Eliminating gender bias in biomedical research requires fair inclusion of pregnant women and gender diverse people
Abstract Systematic under-representation of pregnant women and gender diverse pregnant people in clinical research has prevented them from benefitting fairly from biomedical advances. The resulting lack of pharmacological safety and efficacy data leads to medicine discontinuation, sub-optimal dosing...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Communications Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-024-00629-1 |
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| author | Mridula Shankar A. Metin Gülmezoglu Joshua P. Vogel Shivaprasad S. Goudar Annie McDougall Manjunath S. Somannavar Sara Rushwan Yeshita V. Pujar Umesh Charantimath Anne Ammerdorffer Meghan A. Bohren |
| author_facet | Mridula Shankar A. Metin Gülmezoglu Joshua P. Vogel Shivaprasad S. Goudar Annie McDougall Manjunath S. Somannavar Sara Rushwan Yeshita V. Pujar Umesh Charantimath Anne Ammerdorffer Meghan A. Bohren |
| author_sort | Mridula Shankar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Systematic under-representation of pregnant women and gender diverse pregnant people in clinical research has prevented them from benefitting fairly from biomedical advances. The resulting lack of pharmacological safety and efficacy data leads to medicine discontinuation, sub-optimal dosing, and reliance on repurposed therapies. We identify four roadblocks to fair inclusion. First, investment and research are inhibited by protectionist attitudes among research gatekeepers who view pregnancy as a vulnerable state. Second, exclusion ignores human-specific biological variations affecting medication absorption and impacts on the pregnant body. Third, pregnant populations in low-and middle-income countries face a double disadvantage due to gender and location, despite bearing a disproportionate maternal mortality burden. Fourth, perspectives and experiences of pregnant populations are undervalued in clinical intervention design. We propose five actions to optimize fair inclusion: fostering reciprocal partnerships, prioritizing multi-disciplinary research, awareness-raising of the need for pharmaceutical innovation, conducting regulatory analyses, and promoting responsible inclusion over presumptive exclusion. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0709eee9687c4b6d8c91e66b8de4e74c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2730-664X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-0709eee9687c4b6d8c91e66b8de4e74c2024-12-08T12:44:25ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Medicine2730-664X2024-10-01411510.1038/s43856-024-00629-1Eliminating gender bias in biomedical research requires fair inclusion of pregnant women and gender diverse peopleMridula Shankar0A. Metin Gülmezoglu1Joshua P. Vogel2Shivaprasad S. Goudar3Annie McDougall4Manjunath S. Somannavar5Sara Rushwan6Yeshita V. Pujar7Umesh Charantimath8Anne Ammerdorffer9Meghan A. Bohren10Gender and Women’s Health Unit, Nossal Institute for Global Health, School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneConcept FoundationWomen’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health Program, Burnet InstituteWomen’s and Children’s Health Research Unit, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical CollegeWomen’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health Program, Burnet InstituteWomen’s and Children’s Health Research Unit, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical CollegeConcept FoundationWomen’s and Children’s Health Research Unit, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical CollegeWomen’s and Children’s Health Research Unit, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical CollegeConcept FoundationGender and Women’s Health Unit, Nossal Institute for Global Health, School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneAbstract Systematic under-representation of pregnant women and gender diverse pregnant people in clinical research has prevented them from benefitting fairly from biomedical advances. The resulting lack of pharmacological safety and efficacy data leads to medicine discontinuation, sub-optimal dosing, and reliance on repurposed therapies. We identify four roadblocks to fair inclusion. First, investment and research are inhibited by protectionist attitudes among research gatekeepers who view pregnancy as a vulnerable state. Second, exclusion ignores human-specific biological variations affecting medication absorption and impacts on the pregnant body. Third, pregnant populations in low-and middle-income countries face a double disadvantage due to gender and location, despite bearing a disproportionate maternal mortality burden. Fourth, perspectives and experiences of pregnant populations are undervalued in clinical intervention design. We propose five actions to optimize fair inclusion: fostering reciprocal partnerships, prioritizing multi-disciplinary research, awareness-raising of the need for pharmaceutical innovation, conducting regulatory analyses, and promoting responsible inclusion over presumptive exclusion.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-024-00629-1 |
| spellingShingle | Mridula Shankar A. Metin Gülmezoglu Joshua P. Vogel Shivaprasad S. Goudar Annie McDougall Manjunath S. Somannavar Sara Rushwan Yeshita V. Pujar Umesh Charantimath Anne Ammerdorffer Meghan A. Bohren Eliminating gender bias in biomedical research requires fair inclusion of pregnant women and gender diverse people Communications Medicine |
| title | Eliminating gender bias in biomedical research requires fair inclusion of pregnant women and gender diverse people |
| title_full | Eliminating gender bias in biomedical research requires fair inclusion of pregnant women and gender diverse people |
| title_fullStr | Eliminating gender bias in biomedical research requires fair inclusion of pregnant women and gender diverse people |
| title_full_unstemmed | Eliminating gender bias in biomedical research requires fair inclusion of pregnant women and gender diverse people |
| title_short | Eliminating gender bias in biomedical research requires fair inclusion of pregnant women and gender diverse people |
| title_sort | eliminating gender bias in biomedical research requires fair inclusion of pregnant women and gender diverse people |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-024-00629-1 |
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