O'Driscoll DN, et al. - A review of the literature was done on clinical outcomes among preterm infants of different genders and examined the potential mechanisms underlying the differences observed. The findings from the present study suggested that the male disadvantage in preterm outcomes was likely multifactorial with hormonal, genetic and immunological differences likely playing key roles. When designing clinical and experimental research, gender was an important variable in the preterm outcome and should be considered.