5 ms·

My friend, who is a study nurse, told me medical studies are often just done on men and then women are treated as small men when it comes to treatment later.

by k__ 5y ago

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
I can’t recall seeing a study where only men were allowed to participate, with the exception of male-specific health studies (erectile dysfunction, testosterone replacement therapy, and so on). In fact, any study that arbitrarily excluded women without good reason would almost certainly be flagged by review boards before being allowed to proceed, and it would struggle to get accepted into journals. Maybe this was true many decades ago, but it’s certainly not true in recent history.
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  in my experience, it is still pretty common, depending on the development stage and drug indication. It is not done without good reason. As mentioned elsewhere, there are pleanty of practical reason. The challenge with single sex studies isn't about Journals or IRBs, neither of which care, it is about FDA approval for marketing
jonlucc 5y ago
Not to discount your friend's experience, but I haven't seen a recent study for which this is true. Selection criteria aren't secret; they're on clinicaltrials.gov and published in the eventual data used for FDA approval and publication.
- k__ 5y ago
  Yes, things are certainly getting better. But there is much historical baggage that are still hurting women today without most of them even noticing.
depressedpanda 5y ago
During college, I participated in medical trials at AstraZeneca as an easy way to make money. They almost exclusively asked for male test subjects. One of my female friends also wanted to earn money that way, and called them asking why. Their response was essentially that medical trials are very expensive, and men are a cheaper resource. I.e., women have ovaries and a set amount of eggs, and therefore would potentially be more adversely affected by complications from the experimental drugs, so the insurance was a lot more expensive.
- hnbad 5y ago
  Not to dispute what your friend says they were told but I think it's more likely that they want to rule out pregnancies than that they are worried about affecting fertility. Having a test subject sign up unknowingly pregnant or become pregnant during the trial is probably a massive insurance headache even if you have the test subject sign paperwork to reduce liability.
- at_a_remove 5y ago
  When I did med trials, I was told -- where you are in a menstrual cycle matters for measuring the half-life of a given med. Men, lacking those cycles, are easier to wrangle than trying to select for a group of women who fit the study criteria and also happen to be at the same point on their cycle.
Pungsnigel 5y ago
I work with clinical studies, and I've not seen any indication that this would be even remotely true.

My friend, who is a study nurse, told me medical studies are often just done on men and then women are treated as small men when it comes to treatment later.

by k__ 5y ago

My friend, who is a study nurse, told me medical studies are often just done on men and then women are treated as small men when it comes to treatment later.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

I can’t recall seeing a study where only men were allowed to participate, with the exception of male-specific health studies (erectile dysfunction, testosterone replacement therapy, and so on). In fact, any study that arbitrarily excluded women without good reason would almost certainly be flagged by review boards before being allowed to proceed, and it would struggle to get accepted into journals. Maybe this was true many decades ago, but it’s certainly not true in recent history.

s1artibartfast 5y ago
in my experience, it is still pretty common, depending on the development stage and drug indication. It is not done without good reason. As mentioned elsewhere, there are pleanty of practical reason. The challenge with single sex studies isn't about Journals or IRBs, neither of which care, it is about FDA approval for marketing

jonlucc 5y ago

Not to discount your friend's experience, but I haven't seen a recent study for which this is true. Selection criteria aren't secret; they're on clinicaltrials.gov and published in the eventual data used for FDA approval and publication.

k__ 5y ago
Yes, things are certainly getting better. But there is much historical baggage that are still hurting women today without most of them even noticing.

depressedpanda 5y ago

During college, I participated in medical trials at AstraZeneca as an easy way to make money. They almost exclusively asked for male test subjects. One of my female friends also wanted to earn money that way, and called them asking why. Their response was essentially that medical trials are very expensive, and men are a cheaper resource. I.e., women have ovaries and a set amount of eggs, and therefore would potentially be more adversely affected by complications from the experimental drugs, so the insurance was a lot more expensive.

hnbad 5y ago
Not to dispute what your friend says they were told but I think it's more likely that they want to rule out pregnancies than that they are worried about affecting fertility. Having a test subject sign up unknowingly pregnant or become pregnant during the trial is probably a massive insurance headache even if you have the test subject sign paperwork to reduce liability.
at_a_remove 5y ago
When I did med trials, I was told -- where you are in a menstrual cycle matters for measuring the half-life of a given med. Men, lacking those cycles, are easier to wrangle than trying to select for a group of women who fit the study criteria and also happen to be at the same point on their cycle.

Pungsnigel 5y ago

I work with clinical studies, and I've not seen any indication that this would be even remotely true.