Medical device trials still don’t enroll enough women, study finds Lizzy Lawrence By Lizzy Lawrence June 10, 2024

https://www.statnews.com/2024/06/10/medical-device-trials-still-dont-enroll-enough-women/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--omJxrywDXQGEWObt9E2Wk65wcMmlr9tq-76_rFlZ88MVorBAwwhcnCQgALsm1i_64rHfk6uNLGns4mIx34S_0kUCXag&_hsmi=310992891&utm_content=310992891&utm_source=hs_email Medical device trials still don’t enroll enough women Women have always been underrepresented in all types of medical studies. Some recent progress: Researchers recently analyzed more than 700 scientific journal articles from nine fields and found that in 2019, the number of studies that included women at all increased from 28% to 49%. But there’s still plenty of room for improvement — a study published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine reveals that the percentage of women represented in high-risk medical device trials did not increase from 2010 to 2020. Women generally made up just 33% of participants when the study authors reviewed almost 200 trials from 2016 to 2022. But the percentages varied between devices: Women made up 46% of participants in orthopedic trials, but only 29% in cardiovascular studies. Read more in STAT+ from my colleague Lizzy Lawrence on the disparity in inclusion and why researchers think it has persisted.