Sex differences in the adolescent brain and body: Findings from the saguenay youth study

This Mini‐Review describes sex differences in 66 quantitative characteristics of the brain and body measured in a community‐based sample of 1,024 adolescents 12–18 years of age, members of the Saguenay Youth Study. Using an extensive phenotyping protocol, we have obtained measures in a number of domains, including brain structure, cognition, mental health, substance use, body composition, metabolism, cardiovascular reactivity, and life style. For each measure, we provide estimates of effect size (Cohen's d ) and sex‐specific correlations with age (Pearson R). In total 59 of the 66 characteristics showed sex differences (at a nominal P  < 0.05), with small (32), medium‐sized (13), and large (11) effects. Some, but not all, of these sex differences increase during adolescence; this appears to be the case mostly for anatomical and physiological measures. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.