Sex and Gender Equity in Research: rationale for the SAGER guidelines and recommended use
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Sex and gender differences are often overlooked in research design, study implementation and scientific reporting, as well as in general science communication. This oversight limits the generalizability of research findings and their applicability to clinical practice, in particular for women but also for men. This article describes the rationale for an international set of guidelines to encourage a more systematic approach to the reporting of sex and gender in research across disciplines. METHODS: A panel of 13 experts representing nine countries developed the guidelines through a series of teleconferences, conference presentations and a 2-day workshop. An internet survey of 716 journal editors, scientists and other members of the international publishing community was conducted as well as a literature search on sex and gender policies in scientific publishing. RESULTS: The Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines are a comprehensive procedure for reporting of sex and gender information in study design, data analyses, results and interpretation of findings. CONCLUSIONS: The SAGER guidelines are designed primarily to guide authors in preparing their manuscripts, but they are also useful for editors, as gatekeepers of science, to integrate assessment of sex and gender into all manuscripts as an integral part of the editorial process.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Despite recommendations and guidelines, frequent confusion between sex and gender makes it difficult to identify and understand previous research findings on anxiety in both sexes.
“In addition, despite the existence of recommendations and guidelines in this field, 24 the frequent confusion between these two terms makes it difficult to identify and understand previous research findings on anxiety in both sexes. 5”
From Factors associated with gender and sex differences in anxiety prevalence and comorbidity: A systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as [24]
Estimates of WASH-related disease burden are not disaggregated by sex, despite calls and guidelines to do so in public health and in the WASH sector.
“These estimates are not disaggregated by sex, despite calls and guidelines to do so in public health11, 12 and in the WASH sector.13”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
CONSORT 2010 Statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials
the CONSORT Group, Schulz, K. F., Altman, D. G., & Moher, D. (2010) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/1741-7015-8-18 · Cited by 13,371 · see citing works
Improving Bioscience Research Reporting: The ARRIVE Guidelines for Reporting Animal Research
Kilkenny, C., Browne, W. J., Cuthill, I. C., Emerson, M., & Altman, D. G. (2010) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000412 · Cited by 7,300 · see citing works
Improving bioscience research reporting: The ARRIVE guidelines for reporting animal research
Kilkenny, C., Browne, W. J., Cuthill, I. C., Emerson, M., & Altman, D. G. (2010) · Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics · doi:10.4103/0976-500x.72351 · Cited by 6,277 · see citing works
CONSORT 2010 statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomized trials
Schulz, K. F., Altman, D. G., Moher, D., & for the CONSORT Group* (2010) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-152-11-201006010-00232 · Cited by 3,824 · see citing works
Policy: NIH to balance sex in cell and animal studies
Clayton, J. A., & Collins, F. S. (2014) · Nature · doi:10.1038/509282a · Cited by 1,816 · see citing works
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Cooney-Birch, J. (2019) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/978-1-349-95943-3_219 · Cited by 1,457 · see citing works
Studying sex and gender differences in pain and analgesia: a consensus report
Greenspan, J. D., Craft, R. M., LeResche, L., Arendt-Nielsen, L., Berkley, K. J., Fillingim, R. B., Gold, M. S., Holdcroft, A., Lautenbacher, S., Mayer, E. A., et al. (2007) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2007.10.014 · Cited by 1,033 · see citing works
Panic, N., Leoncini, E., de Belvis, G., Ricciardi, W., & Boccia, S. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083138 · Cited by 883 · see citing works
Plint, A. C., Moher, D., Morrison, A., Schulz, K., Altman, D. G., Hill, C., & Gaboury, I. (2006) · Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00557.x · Cited by 872 · see citing works
Zhou, Q.-H. (2015) · Chinese Nursing Research · doi:10.1016/j.cnre.2016.01.001 · Cited by 738 · see citing works
The Girl Who Cried Pain: A Bias against Women in the Treatment of Pain
Hoffmann, D. E., & Tarzian, A. J. (2001) · Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics · doi:10.1111/j.1748-720x.2001.tb00037.x · Cited by 622 · see citing works
Johnson, J. L., Greaves, L., & Repta, R. (2009) · International Journal for Equity in Health · doi:10.1186/1475-9276-8-14 · Cited by 534 · see citing works
GELLER, S. E., Koch, A., Pellettieri, B. F., & Carnes, M. L. (2011) · Journal of Women s Health · doi:10.1089/jwh.2010.2469 · Cited by 373 · see citing works
Trial Registration at ClinicalTrials.gov between May and October 2005
Zarin, D. A., Tse, T., & Ide, N. C. (2005) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmsa053234 · Cited by 290 · see citing works
Status of Women in Cardiovascular Clinical Trials
Kim, E. S. H., & Menon, V. (2009) · Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology · doi:10.1161/atvbaha.108.179796 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
van der Weyden, M. V. (2006) · doi:10.2349/biij.2.4.e54-13 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Sex Is Not Enough: The Need for Gender-Based Analysis in Health Research
Nowatzki, N., & Grant, K. R. (2011) · Health Care for Women International · doi:10.1080/07399332.2010.519838 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Scientific excellence in applying sex-and gender-sensitive methods in biomedical and health research
Nieuwenhoven, L., & Klinge, I. (2010) · Journal of Women's Health · doi:10.1089/jwh.2008.1156 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Leopold, S. S., Beadling, L., Dobbs, M. B., et al. (2013) · Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research · doi:10.1007/s11999-013-3397-5 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Doull, M., Runnels, V., Tudiver, S., & Boscoe, M. (2010) · Journal of Women s Health · doi:10.1089/jwh.2009.1626 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Parameters Influencing AIS 1 Neck Injury Outcome in Frontal Impacts
Jakobsson, L., Norin, H., & Svensson, M. Y. (2004) · Traffic Injury Prevention · doi:10.1080/15389580490435989 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
ADSEAT – Adaptive seat to reduce neck injuries for female and male occupants
Linder, A., Schick, S., Hell, W., et al. (2013) · Accident Analysis & Prevention · doi:10.1016/j.aap.2013.02.043 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Taking sex into account in medicine
Lancet, T. (2011) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(11)61795-9 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Doull, M., Welch, V. A., Puil, L. J., Runnels, V., Coen, S. E., Shea, B., O’Neill, J., Borkhoff, C. M., Tudiver, S., & Boscoe, M. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110786 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
(2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/491495a · Cited by 32 · see citing works
NIH Policy on the Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research
Hayunga, E. G., & Pinn, V. W. (2002) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-012274065-7/50013-7 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
(2012) · PubMed · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [3]Institute of Medicine (IOM) Sex-specific reporting of scientific research: a workshop summary 2012 Washington, DC The National Academies Press 22379657
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Larrazabal, A. J., Nieto, N., Peterson, V., Milone, D. H., & Ferrante, E. (2020) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1919012117 · Cited by 685 · see citing works
Sex differences in biological aging with a focus on human studies
Hägg, S., & Jylhävä, J. (2021) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.63425 · Cited by 442 · see citing works
Farhane-Medina, N. Z., Luque, B., Tabernero, C., & Castillo-Mayén, R. (2022) · Science Progress · doi:10.1177/00368504221135469 · Cited by 409 · see citing works
Wolf, J., Hubbard, S., Brauer, M., Ambelu, A., Arnold, B. F., Bain, R., Bauza, V., Brown, J., Caruso, B. A., Clasen, T., et al. (2022) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(22)00937-0 · Cited by 377 · see citing works
Rechlin, R. K., Splinter, T. F. L., Hodges, T. E., Albert, A. Y., & Galea, L. A. M. (2022) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-022-29903-3 · Cited by 218 · see citing works
Sex differences in the burden and complications of diabetes
Peters, S. A. E., & Woodward, M. (2018) · Current Diabetes Reports · doi:10.1007/s11892-018-1005-5 · Cited by 172 · see citing works
Cherubini, A., Ostadreza, M., Jamialahmadi, O., Pelusi, S., Rrapaj, E., Casirati, E., Passignani, G., Norouziesfahani, M., Sinopoli, E., Baselli, G., et al. (2023) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41591-023-02553-8 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Sex and gender differences in myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy: An update
Fairweather, D., Beetler, D. J., Musigk, N., Heidecker, B., Lyle, M. A., Cooper, L. T., & Bruno, K. A. (2023) · Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine · doi:10.3389/fcvm.2023.1129348 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Jones, S. L., Dufoix, R., Laplante, D. P., Elgbeili, G., Patel, R., Chakravarty, M. M., King, S., & Pruessner, J. C. (2019) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00144 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the menstrual cycle: Theory and evidence
Eng, A. G., Nirjar, U., Elkins, A. R., Sizemore, Y. J., Monticello, K. N., Petersen, M. K., Miller, S. A., Barone, J., Eisenlohr-Moul, T. A., & Martel, M. M. (2024) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105466 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Robust sex differences in functional brain connectivity are present in utero
Cook, K. M., De Asis-Cruz, J., Lopez, C., Quistorff, J., Kapse, K., Andersen, N., Vezina, G., & Limperopoulos, C. (2023) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhac218 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Reporting summary results in clinical trial registries: updated guidance from WHO
Chan, A.-W., Karam, G., Pymento, J., Askie, L. M., da Silva, L. R., Aymé, S., Taylor, C. M., Hooft, L., Ross, A. L., & Moorthy, V. (2025) · The Lancet Global Health · doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(24)00514-x · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Prevalence and determinants of liver disease in relatives of Italian patients with advanced MASLD
Pelusi, S., Ronzoni, L., Rondena, J., Rosso, C., Pennisi, G., Dongiovanni, P., Margarita, S., Carpani, R., Soardo, G., Prati, D., et al. (2024) · Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology · doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2023.12.033 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Metaresearch study highlights the gender gap in randomized controlled trials in dentistry
Prado, M. C., Dotto, L., Agostini, B. A., & Sarkis-Onofre, R. (2023) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2023.08.005 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Bisby, M. A., Chandra, S. S., Scott, A. J., Dudeney, J., Titov, N., & Dear, B. F. (2023) · The Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2023.06.004 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Amaya-Santos, S., Vargas, C., & Bermúdez-Tamayo, C. (2026) · Public Health in Practice · doi:10.1016/j.puhip.2025.100713 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
de Oliveira, N. F. F., Santuzzi, C. H., da Conceição, T. V., Freitas, J. M. V., Liberato, F. M. G., & Nascimento, L. R. (2024) · Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.bjpt.2024.101122 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Cavaleri, D., Crocamo, C., Riboldi, I., Guzzi, P., Bartoli, F., & Carrà, G. (2026) · European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.1007/s00406-025-02129-2 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Heidari, S., Babor, T. F., De Castro, P., Tort, S., & Curno, M.
- Affiliations
- European Association of Science Editors (GB)
- University of Connecticut (US)
- Cochrane (GB)
- International AIDS Society (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Babor, Thomas F.
- Venue
- Research Integrity and Peer Review
- Published
- 2016-05-03
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 2-2
- ISSN
- 2058-8615 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5793986
- OpenAlex
- W2343343747
- Cited by
- 2,184
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 387 · 2025: 406 · 2024: 416 · 2023: 289 · 2022: 232 · 2021: 162 · 2020: 141 · 2019: 62 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 12
- FWCI
- 49.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Research Integrity and Peer Review (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Diversity and Career in Medicine
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Keywords
- SAGER guidelines, sex differences, gender differences, reporting guidelines, scholarly publishing, journal editorial process, generalizability of research findings, women in science
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
