Rationale: A scoping review was conducted to investigate knowledge gaps in the informatics research literature regarding sex differences in cognitive decline, identifying existing studies and areas where further studies are needed.
Materials and methods: We searched Ovid and other databases for studies on sex differences and cognitive decline, focusing on publications in peer-reviewed informatics journals and conference proceedings from 2000 to 2023. The selected manuscripts were analyzed and summarized through discussion among three reviewers.
Results: A total of 13 articles were selected and examined for metadata and attributes analysis. Most studies are conducted in United States (n=5) and European Union (n=4), about a half are published after 2020 (n=6), and most studies are published in Springer and Elsevier. Our attributes-based analysis highlights the different aspects of reported studies such as task, method, dataset and its size, and sex-specific inferences.
Discussion: Sex-specific disparities in cognitive decline remain a critical issue in healthcare, yet most informatics research has primarily concentrated on identifying basic sex differences, such as tracking the progression of cognitive decline in men and women. While these studies are valuable, they fall short of addressing the more complex underlying causes of these sex-specific disparities in progression of cognitive decline.
Conclusion: There is a significant gap using informatics in understanding how biological, social, and behavioral factors contribute to sex-specific disparities. This limited focus restricts the development of effective intervention strategies for mitigating sex-specific differences in cognitive health outcomes, underscoring the need for more comprehensive research that goes beyond mere identification to find the root cause of these disparities in healthcare.