Study shows underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular clinical trials

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.May 8 2023

A new study has shown that women are underrepresented in late-breaking cardiovascular clinical trials (LBCT) presented at national meetings. The study is published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Women's Health.

LBCT can have an impact on novel drug and device approvals, intervention indications, and patient management, according to Martha Gulati, MD, MS, from Smidt Heart Institute, and coauthors of the current study. The study investigators assessed the inclusion of women participants in LBCT presented at recent American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and European Society of Cardiology annual meetings. They also identified trial characteristics associated with improved inclusion of women.

The investigators reported that the inclusion to prevalence ratio was 0.76 for all trials and was significantly lower for procedural studies compared with medication trials.

'These findings warrant further investigation to increase inclusion of women in trials, including potential enrollment requirements for consideration as LBCT by meeting organizers," concluded the investigators.