But a lack of research on women’s health “prevents a comprehensive understanding of how these and other chronic conditions affect women,” the report authors wrote. More research is needed, especially because black women are more likely to die from chronic diseases than white women, the study said.
The 500-page report calls for a focused NIH-led effort to improve diagnostic tools for women-specific conditions, such as endometriosis, and to distinguish between overlapping symptoms of various chronic diseases.
Farida Sorabji, one of the report’s authors, said she hoped the paper would help guide urgent research priorities.
“One of the biggest complaints is [saw] “There are a lot of examples of women not being included in studies, or their experiences and symptoms being downplayed or not given enough attention,” said Sorabji, director of women’s health at Texas A&M University’s neuroscience program. [women] We recognise that sometimes health is not properly taken into account and experiences of pain are downplayed.”
Sorabji stressed the importance of addressing racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities, saying the experiences of white women and women of color are vastly different but underrepresented in research.
The report highlights the influence of biological and social factors in the diagnosis and management of chronic diseases, and draws attention to the lack of research on women-specific and gynecological diseases, and the impact of social determinants of health on chronic diseases.
Experts point out clear differences between how conditions such as heart disease and diabetes manifest in women and men, highlighting the need for better diagnostic tools tailored to women’s chronic diseases. Diseases in women can manifest in unique ways, experts say, and using tools designed primarily for male patients could lead to misdiagnosis.
A 2019 study published in JAMA found that the NIH awards more research funding to first-time male grant recipients than their female counterparts, arguing that federal research funding is linked to the quality of science and career advancement.
“If there’s something that affects a large proportion of men, [some of the diseases that affect] “For women, we will know the exact causes and have more treatments and diagnostic options,” said Karen Tang, an obstetrician-gynaecologist and author who was not involved in the report.
