THE GENDER-BASED RESEARCH GAP

Women have been under-represented in medical research for a very long time. That’s a problem, says Dr. Rulan Parekh, because women are not just small men. We react to and metabolize drugs differently, and we may experience different side-effects.

As early as 1997, Canada introduced guidelines recommending women be included in all phases of clinical trials in appropriate sample sizes, and that health outcomes be evaluated by sex. Problem solved, right?

Not so, according to the latest research. Although Canada doesn’t officially monitor for inclusion of women in research, our clinical trial enrolment practices are similar to those in the U.S. And when a Contemporary Clinical Trials study published last year looked at enrolment practices for 1,400 different devices and drugs, it found women make up 50.8 per cent of the U.S. populace, but only 41.2 per cent of clinical trial participants.

The gap was particularly noticeable in the areas of cardiovascular, cancer and psychiatric research. Consider that:

■ Although 49 per cent of people with cardiovascular disease are women, less than 42 per cent of participants in cardiovascular research are female.

■ Fifty-one per cent of cancer patients are female, but only 41 per cent of cancer trial patients are women.

■ Sixty per cent of psychiatric disorders occur in women, yet just 42 per cent of participants in psychiatric drug trials were female.

As York University researcher Alla Yakerson pointed out in a 2019 article in the International Journal for Equity in Health: “In order for women to make informed decisions with respect to their health, drug outcomes must be thoroughly evaluated in both sexes so that comprehensive information about safety and effectiveness can be made publically available.”