IOM Report Demands Sex-based Research

Washington, DC (September 24, 2010) — Women’s health research and the study of sex differences are vitally important and require more attention and focus from federal agencies, according to the just released Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Women's Health Research: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise.

According to the report, “The IOM finds that women’s health research has contributed to significant progress in lessening the burden of disease and reducing deaths from some conditions, while other conditions have seen only moderate change or even little or no change.”

Reaffirming SWHR’s efforts to translate research into practice and the need to address disparities in care and treatment in our healthcare system, the IOM Report strongly recommends increased funding for women’s health research.

“The IOM report echoes our call for more research and specifically research into sex differences and diseases and illnesses which disproportionately, differently, or exclusively impact women,” said Martha Nolan, JD, Vice President of Public Policy at SWHR. “Further, it forcefully demands stratification of data by sex and other factors at the major agencies in order for research to be reported and conducted appropriately.”

Over the last two decades, SWHR has been a strong advocate for the FDA and the Office of Women’s Health and has sought research and analysis into sex, race, and ethnicity in drug devices and biologic approvals. SWHR does believe that FDA’s enforcement of its regulations and guidelines in this area will result in important research and medical information into clinical care and best practices for patients.

A major IOM recommendation is that all research should be designed and conducted in a way that allows for analysis of differences between men, women and subgroups.

To SWHR, women’s health research and the study of sex differences requires an interdisciplinary approach involving investigators with different but complementary expertise working together to address specific gaps in knowledge.

Anticipated by individuals and organizations concerned about women’s health, the report’s message could not be clearer: women’s health research is a priority and the gaps in knowledge must be addressed in order to improve health outcomes for both men and women. It has long been SWHR’s mission and focus to improve the health of all women through to sex differences research, advocacy and education.

###

For more information on the Society for Women’s Health Research please contact Rachel Griffith at 202-496-5001 or Rachel@swhr.org.

The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), a national non-profit organization based in Washington D.C., is widely recognized as the thought leader in women’s health research, particularly how sex differences impact health. SWHR’s mission is to improve the health of all women through advocacy, education and research. Visit SWHR’s website at swhr.org for more information.