Sex/Gender Differences in Pediatric Gastrointestinal Diseases

To date, studies on gender differences between males and females in gastrointestinal diseases in children and adolescents are still lacking. In pediatric patients, some evidence for gender differences in various gastrointestinal diseases such as congenital gastrointestinal anomalies, functional gastrointestinal diseases, and organic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease has recently been proposed. The mechanism of gender difference in pediatric gastrointestinal diseases can be explained by the differences in sex hormones according to each developmental stage, genetic differences in sex chromosomes, and the differences in gene-environment interactions. In the future, in-depth research on various pediatric gastrointestinal diseases is needed, along with the interest of clinicians and researchers in relation to gender differences in gastrointestinal diseases in children and adolescents.