For decades, clinical trials enrolled only, or mostly, men as participants, reducing the medical research’s generalizability for physicians and health professionals working to determine the best course of treatment for their female patients. Now, with the proliferation of efforts to reverse that trend, more knowledge is shared every day on the way that sex intersects with health and illness.
JAMA+ Women’s Health, a new channel from the JAMA Network®, was launched last month to help disseminate and raise awareness of that clinical information.
“Women's health goes well beyond the commonly recognized issues such as reproductive health, gynecologic and breast cancers, and menopause,” said JAMA+ Women’s Health Editor in Chief Linda T. Brubaker, MD, MS, in a video announcing the project. Dr. Brubaker added that the increasing drive for health care personalization makes the channel particularly relevant.
“There has been so much conversation about personalization of medicine, getting down to a single individual, but if we even made the big step forward to understand the differences in genetics and physiology that women have, we will improve health care outcomes,” she said.
AMA members can explore a range of peer-reviewed research and clinical information published by the JAMA Network®, which brings JAMA® together with JAMA Network Open and 11 specialty journals. Published continuously since 1883, JAMA is one of the most widely circulated, peer-reviewed, general medical journals in the world. If you are an AMA member or interested in becoming one, learn how to access these educational materials and innovative tools.
A topic that demands attention
Gaps in research have led to an incomplete knowledge base on the ways sex can influence illness and health. New scientific studies are helping to fill those gaps.
“Now, with rigorous studies that include women or focus exclusively on women, we have much better evidence,” Dr. Brubaker said. “The clinical issues that JAMA publishes on women's health will all be collated on a single place, the JAMA+ Women's Health Channel. This will improve discoverability and linkages for clinicians seeking specific information to improve the health care of their own patients.”
The channel will amplify clinical information published across JAMA, JAMA Network Open and the JAMA specialty journals, enriching that content with graphics and podcasts to help clinicians stay up to date on developments in women’s health across specialties.
“Evidence of sex-based differences is accumulating in virtually every specialty, and JAMA and the JAMA Network journals are publishing a growing number of impactful original research studies highlighting these differences,” says an editorial announcing the project. “The more we learn, the more we recognize the gaps in our sex-based knowledge.” Dr. Brubaker co-wrote the editorial with Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, who is editor-in-chief of JAMA and the JAMA Network.
Research emerging on a variety of fronts
The channel already features original investigations, reviews, opinion pieces, patient information pages and more. Some of the recently published research includes:
“Myo-inositol Supplementation to Prevent Pregnancy Complications in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” published in JAMA. Does daily myo-inositol supplementation reduce the risk of a composite outcome of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, or preterm birth in pregnant individuals with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared with placebo?
“Soft Drink Consumption and Depression Mediated by Gut Microbiome Alterations,” published in JAMA Psychiatry. Is soft drink consumption related to depression diagnosis and severity, and is this association mediated by gut microbiome alteration?
“Midurethral Sling vs OnabotulinumtoxinA in Females With Urinary Incontinence: The MUSA Randomized Clinical Trial,” published in JAMA. Is there a superior procedural-based treatment for females with mixed urinary incontinence who have at least moderate bother from both stress and urgency incontinence?
“Premenstrual Disorders and Quality of Life in Sweden,” published in JAMA Network Open. Do women with premenstrual disorders (PMDs) have a lower quality of life compared with women without PMDs?
The JAMA+ Women’s Health channel was launched last month. Each September, the AMA Women Physicians Section marks Women in Medicine Month by honoring physicians who have offered their time, wisdom and support to advance women with careers in medicine.
