Call for papers - Women and gastrointestinal health

Guest Editors

Vivian Wai-Mei Huang, MD, Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada; University of Toronto, Canada
Cynthia Maxwell, MD, Women's College Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 7 March 2025

BMC Gastroenterology invites submissions for the Collection Women and gastrointestinal health. Gastrointestinal disorders often manifest in women with symptoms and progression patterns that differ from those observed in men. Understanding these differences is important for effective diagnosis, treatment, and management strategies tailored to women's needs. This collection aims to highlight the unique aspects of gastrointestinal health in women, including but not limited to physiological differences, hormonal influences, diagnostic challenges, treatment considerations, and psychosocial impacts.

New Content Item This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being.

Submit to Collection

Meet the Guest Editors

Back to top

Vivian Wai-Mei Huang, MD, Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada; University of Toronto, Canada

Dr Vivian Huang is an Associate Professor and Clinician investigator in the Division of Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto. Dr Huang completed medical school and Internal Medicine residency at Queen's University, followed by a gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Toronto, and an Advanced IBD fellowship at the University of Alberta. She practices P4 (predictive, preventive, personalized, participatory) medicine to optimize maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes in IBD through clinical innovations in patient and physician education, and e-health strategies. She developed the Northern Alberta Preconception and Pregnancy in IBD clinical research program and the Mount Sinai Hospital Preconception and Pregnancy in IBD clinical research program in Ontario. She also created the Multidisciplinary Care in IBD (MCIBD) CME program for clinicians who care for people with IBD. She received the Crohn’s and Colitis Canada and Pfizer Canada Women in IBD: Emerging Researchers Award in 2020 and the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology Young Scholar in Quality Innovation Award in 2023 for her work in Pregnancy and IBD management and education. She is lead author or co-author of over 60 research articles and 2 book chapters, and is one of 2 Canadian committee members of the upcoming Global Consensus Conference: Pregnancy and IBD.

Cynthia Maxwell, MD, Women's College Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada

Dr Cynthia Maxwell (pronouns she/her) is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist as well as an Obesity Medicine Specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital and Women’s College Hospital, Toronto. She is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Her clinical and research interests are focused on disorders of pregnancy with an emphasis on pregnancies affected by obesity, malignancy, and gastrointestinal disorders including inflammatory bowel diseases. Her leadership interests focus on health systems transformation, health equity and health care access.

About the Collection

BMC Gastroenterology invites submissions for a Collection focusing on Women and gastrointestinal health. This interdisciplinary collection seeks to explore the multifaceted relationship between gender-specific factors and gastrointestinal (GI) health, with a focus on understanding the challenges, manifestations, and management strategies pertinent to women.

Gastrointestinal disorders affect millions of women worldwide, posing significant clinical, social, and economic burdens. In diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), women often experience symptoms that differ from or are more severe than those experienced by men. Accurate diagnosis and tailored management strategies are essential to improve the quality of life for women affected by these conditions. Moreover, advancements in this field have shed light on the influence of hormonal fluctuations, reproductive factors, and psychosocial factors on gastrointestinal health in women. Interdisciplinary research has elucidated the complex interplay between the gut microbiota, immune system, and hormonal milieu, leading to innovative therapeutic approaches.

Despite growing recognition of sex and gender differences in GI diseases, there remains a critical need to deepen our understanding of these complexities. This collection aims to address this gap by promoting dialogue and advancing knowledge across a spectrum of topics, including but not limited to:

Symptomatology, diagnosis, and management of gallbladder disease in women
Endometriosis and GI symptoms correlation
The role of depression, stress and anxiety on women's gastrointestinal health
Screening and prevention strategies for colon cancer in women
Gender disparities in gastroesophageal health
Menopause-related GI changes
Pelvic floor disorders and bowel function in women
Gastrointestinal health during menstrual cycle and pregnancy
Psychological interventions for improving women's digestive health
Nutritional considerations for women's GI health

This collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being.

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

Back to top

This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Women and gastrointestinal health" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.