Gender and sex—time to bridge the gap

Abstract

EMBO Mol Med (2019) e10668 Interdisciplinary research and education are key for a better appreciation of sex and gender as defining a person, and for novel societal and personalized health‐care approaches. While the involvement of abnormal Androgen Receptor (AR) signalling in prostate cancer is well established, there is growing evidence that it also plays a role in various other malignancies. A key target organ for epigenetic modification is the human brain, which has anatomical differences in various regions between men and women. While significant research is underway to better understand the factors that determine sex and gender, other essential health‐related issues for transgender patients are much less well studied. Sex and gender are different characteristics and yet inextricably linked to the human experience in determining bodily, mental and social activities. Sex refers to the biological and physical features linked with reproductive functions that result from the combined action of sex chromosomes and hormones. Gender refers more widely to an individual's self‐perception and representation as male, female or non‐binary and their place in society. Historically, the health sciences have kept sex and gender separated as biological and societal factors. However, there are increasing biological as well as medical arguments to question whether there is a true divide between the two. Personalized prevention and treatment of a large number of medical conditions critically depends on a better appreciation of both the physiological difference between the biological sexes and how male, female and non‐binary identities are attained and maintained. In fact, sex and gender are at the interface between environmental and hormonal factors and genetic and epigenetic determinants of organ development, most notably the brain. Interdisciplinary research and education are key for a better appreciation of sex and gender as defining a person, and for novel societal and personalized health‐care approaches. It is commonly …