Underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular disease clinical Trials—What’s in a Name?
Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women worldwide. Yet, women are often underrepresented in cardiovascular clinical trials. Trial characteristics may influence the participation of women. For instance, trials are often entitled with an acronym, which might be percei...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Cardiology: Heart & Vasculature |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352906724002136 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850266309631148032 |
|---|---|
| author | A.E. Spiering A.M.L.N. van Ommen J.E. Roeters van Lennep Y. Appelman K. Reue N.C. Onland-Moret H.M. den Ruijter |
| author_facet | A.E. Spiering A.M.L.N. van Ommen J.E. Roeters van Lennep Y. Appelman K. Reue N.C. Onland-Moret H.M. den Ruijter |
| author_sort | A.E. Spiering |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women worldwide. Yet, women are often underrepresented in cardiovascular clinical trials. Trial characteristics may influence the participation of women. For instance, trials are often entitled with an acronym, which might be perceived as gendered. We aimed to investigate if the perceived gender of the acronym and other trial characteristics affect the representation of female patients in cardiovascular trials. Methods: We searched ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials in cardiovascular disease named with an acronym. Cardiovascular patients (n = 148) scored the perceived gender of the acronym of 148 identified trials. Prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated with Poisson regression to link trial characteristics to representation of female patients in the trials. Results: In 62 % of trials, female patients were underrepresented relative to the disease population. There was no improvement over time in proportion of trials with adequate representation. A third of acronyms was classified as gendered. The perceived gender did not affect representation of female patients (PR 1.01; 95% CI 0.95 – 1.08; P = 0.68). A woman as first and/or last author (PR 1.22; 95% CI 1.07 – 1.38; P = 0.002) and recruitment in an outpatient setting (PR 1.15; 95% CI 1.02 – 1.29; P = 0.01) were associated with a higher prevalence of adequate representation of female patients. Conclusions: Representation of female patients in cardiovascular trials does not depend on the perceived gender of the trial acronym but is improved in trials under female leadership in out-patient settings. Our findings may direct efforts towards increasing representation of female patients in cardiovascular trials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-af8b17648b3746a5ae6232bc4b91083c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2352-9067 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Cardiology: Heart & Vasculature |
| spelling | doaj-art-af8b17648b3746a5ae6232bc4b91083c2025-08-20T01:54:12ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Cardiology: Heart & Vasculature2352-90672024-12-015510154710.1016/j.ijcha.2024.101547Underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular disease clinical Trials—What’s in a Name?A.E. Spiering0A.M.L.N. van Ommen1J.E. Roeters van Lennep2Y. Appelman3K. Reue4N.C. Onland-Moret5H.M. den Ruijter6Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United StatesLaboratory of Experimental Cardiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the NetherlandsDepartment of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Cardiology, Heart Center, Amsterdam UMC – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United StatesDepartment of Epidemiology, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the NetherlandsLaboratory of Experimental Cardiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Corresponding author.Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women worldwide. Yet, women are often underrepresented in cardiovascular clinical trials. Trial characteristics may influence the participation of women. For instance, trials are often entitled with an acronym, which might be perceived as gendered. We aimed to investigate if the perceived gender of the acronym and other trial characteristics affect the representation of female patients in cardiovascular trials. Methods: We searched ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials in cardiovascular disease named with an acronym. Cardiovascular patients (n = 148) scored the perceived gender of the acronym of 148 identified trials. Prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated with Poisson regression to link trial characteristics to representation of female patients in the trials. Results: In 62 % of trials, female patients were underrepresented relative to the disease population. There was no improvement over time in proportion of trials with adequate representation. A third of acronyms was classified as gendered. The perceived gender did not affect representation of female patients (PR 1.01; 95% CI 0.95 – 1.08; P = 0.68). A woman as first and/or last author (PR 1.22; 95% CI 1.07 – 1.38; P = 0.002) and recruitment in an outpatient setting (PR 1.15; 95% CI 1.02 – 1.29; P = 0.01) were associated with a higher prevalence of adequate representation of female patients. Conclusions: Representation of female patients in cardiovascular trials does not depend on the perceived gender of the trial acronym but is improved in trials under female leadership in out-patient settings. Our findings may direct efforts towards increasing representation of female patients in cardiovascular trials.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352906724002136Cardiovascular diseaseClinical trialsFemale representationTrial acronymFemale authorshipPerceived gender |
| spellingShingle | A.E. Spiering A.M.L.N. van Ommen J.E. Roeters van Lennep Y. Appelman K. Reue N.C. Onland-Moret H.M. den Ruijter Underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular disease clinical Trials—What’s in a Name? International Journal of Cardiology: Heart & Vasculature Cardiovascular disease Clinical trials Female representation Trial acronym Female authorship Perceived gender |
| title | Underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular disease clinical Trials—What’s in a Name? |
| title_full | Underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular disease clinical Trials—What’s in a Name? |
| title_fullStr | Underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular disease clinical Trials—What’s in a Name? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular disease clinical Trials—What’s in a Name? |
| title_short | Underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular disease clinical Trials—What’s in a Name? |
| title_sort | underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular disease clinical trials what s in a name |
| topic | Cardiovascular disease Clinical trials Female representation Trial acronym Female authorship Perceived gender |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352906724002136 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT aespiering underrepresentationofwomenincardiovasculardiseaseclinicaltrialswhatsinaname AT amlnvanommen underrepresentationofwomenincardiovasculardiseaseclinicaltrialswhatsinaname AT jeroetersvanlennep underrepresentationofwomenincardiovasculardiseaseclinicaltrialswhatsinaname AT yappelman underrepresentationofwomenincardiovasculardiseaseclinicaltrialswhatsinaname AT kreue underrepresentationofwomenincardiovasculardiseaseclinicaltrialswhatsinaname AT nconlandmoret underrepresentationofwomenincardiovasculardiseaseclinicaltrialswhatsinaname AT hmdenruijter underrepresentationofwomenincardiovasculardiseaseclinicaltrialswhatsinaname |