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. 2021 Jun;18(6):585-588.
doi: 10.1038/s41592-021-01168-6.

Molecular omics resources should require sex annotation: a call for action

Kamila M Bond  1   2 , Margaret M McCarthy  3   4 , Joshua B Rubin  5   6 , Kristin R Swanson  7
Affiliations

Molecular omics resources should require sex annotation: a call for action

Kamila M Bond et al. Nat Methods. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

The most commonly-used omics databases are a compilation of results from primarily male-only and sex-agnostic studies. The pervasive use of these databases critically hinders progress towards fully accounting for the biology of sex differences.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests

Dr. Swanson is a co-founder of Precision Oncology Insights, Inc. The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Analyzing disaggregated male (M) and female (F) data through the perspective of databases that were built upon sex-biased studies (prism) could give rise to misleading results. (A) If the database is male-biased but there are truly no sex differences in the system, the output will be accurate for both M and F. (B) If sex differences exist and the database is M-biased, results could be accurate for Ms but have lower significance in Fs, (C) incomplete in Fs, or (D) uninformative in Fs. (E) In the case that sex differences exist and the database is F-biased, results may be uninformative for M data. (F) If the database annotates for sex, thereby allowing for truly sex-specific analyses, M and F outputs can be both different and accurate.
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