Table 1 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) definitions of sex and gender [24]

Variable	Definition
Sex	The biological and physiological characteristics that distinguish males from females^a
Gender	The socially constructed roles, expectations, relationships, behaviours, relative power, and other traits that societies ascribe to women, men and people of diverse gender identities^b

^aIt should, however, be recognised that the assumption that the population can be divided neatly into male/female categories does not accurately reflect the full diversity of human biology, given that approximately 1.7% of the population is intersex [45]; hence the concept of sex as a male/female binary is, itself, a social process [46]
^bThere is a need in health research to move beyond static, binary categorisations of gender, given that gender exists on a continuum and is dynamic in varying over time and across cultures [36]. Researchers are cautioned to examine their tools and analyses for potentially reproducing the gender binary and rendering invisible the experiences of persons for whom binary categorisations may be insufficient, including transgendered persons [47]

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