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For many years, researchers did not include women in medical research studies because they believed it would make the studies too complicated. They just assumed that if a treatment worked for men, it would work the same way for women. Now we know that women and men can react differently to the same treatment, and that some treatments that work for men may not work as well for women, and some that work for women may not work as well for men. Women and men may have very different side effects from a drug, women may need a higher or lower dose of a drug to get the same effect as men, and devices that are designed for men's bodies may not fit women. Women may require different means of disease prevention than men. When women are included in treatment studies, it may be possible to identify differences in response to a treatment before it is made widely available. Including women in observational studies will help identify differences in how diseases affect men and women. The participation of women in all types of medical research studies will help answer questions about these differences, and thus will improve the health of both men and women. In addition, there are many diseases and conditions that only affect women, such as cancer of the uterus or ovaries, pregnancy, and menopause. Other diseases and conditions, such as osteoporosis, breast cancer, diabetes, and arthritis, affect more women than men. Women are needed for clinical research studies on these health conditions, so that new information can be gathered about how to prevent and treat them. Women of all races, ethnic groups, and economic groups are needed to participate in medical research studies. Including all kinds of women will help ensure that the information we get from research is complete and accurate.
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