Sex and Gender Multidimensionality in Epidemiologic Research.

ABSTRACT: Along with age and race, sex has historically been a core stratification and control variable in epidemiological research. While in recent decades research guidelines and institutionalized requirements have incorporated an approach differentiating biological sex from social gender, neither sex nor gender is itself a unidimensional construct. The conflation of dimensions within and between sex and gender presents a validity issue wherein proxy measures are used for dimensions of interest, often without explicit acknowledgement or evaluation. Individual-level dimensions of sex and gender are outlined as a guide for epidemiologists. Two case studies are presented. The first demonstrates how unacknowledged use of a sex/gender proxy for a sexed dimension of interest (uterine status) resulted in

SUBMITTER: Bauer GR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9619685 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature