NIH’s Janine Clayton on advancing women's health research
To mark International Women’s Day today, I chatted with Dr. Janine Clayton, director of the NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health, about the issues facing women's health and the ways in which research has become more inclusive. Here’s a snapshot of our conversation:
What are some major challenges in women’s health right now?
Even though maternal mortality is decreasing in every other high-income country, it is increasing in the United States. For every woman who dies, there are many more women who had near-misses. We know, for example, that black women, regardless of education and income, are three to four times more likely to die [of something] related to childbirth. So that's one of the things that I think is our biggest challenge is addressing these demographics.
What advances have been made in incorporating sex differences in research?
One thing we’re really proud of is the policy that I put forward that requires our investigators to account for sex as a biological variable. Investigators who are doing preclinical research using animal models are now using both male and female animals. The default should be to study both sexes, and [there] should be a strong scientific justification why you're not studying both sexes.
What are some major challenges in women’s health right now?
Even though maternal mortality is decreasing in every other high-income country, it is increasing in the United States. For every woman who dies, there are many more women who had near-misses. We know, for example, that black women, regardless of education and income, are three to four times more likely to die [of something] related to childbirth. So that's one of the things that I think is our biggest challenge is addressing these demographics.
What advances have been made in incorporating sex differences in research?
One thing we’re really proud of is the policy that I put forward that requires our investigators to account for sex as a biological variable. Investigators who are doing preclinical research using animal models are now using both male and female animals. The default should be to study both sexes, and [there] should be a strong scientific justification why you're not studying both sexes.
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