Sex and gender differences impact the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 mortality. Furthermore, sex differences influence the frequency and severity of pharmacological side effects. A large number of clinical trials to develop new therapeutic approaches and vaccines for COVID-19 are ongoing. We investigated the inclusion of sex and/or gender in COVID-19 studies on ClinicalTrials.gov, collecting data for the period January 1, 2020 to January 26, 2021. Here, we show that of the 4,420 registered SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 studies, 935 (21.2%) address sex/gender solely in the context of recruitment, 237 (5.4%) plan sex-matched or representative samples or emphasized sex/gender reporting, and only 178 (4%) explicitly report a plan to include sex/gender as an analytical variable. Just eight (17.8%) of the 45 COVID-19 related clinical trials published in scientific journals until December 15, 2020 report sex-disaggregated results or subgroup analyses. Sex and gender have been associated with differences in SARS-CoV-2 incidence and clinical outcomes and therefore warrant consideration in study designs. Here, the authors assess registered and published clinical COVID-19 studies and find that sex-disaggregated analyses are infrequently presented or planned.
【저자키워드】 Risk factors, Epidemiology, clinical trials, Health policy, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Vaccine, clinical trial, SARS-COV-2 infection, severity, Sex, Gender, Clinical outcome, incidence, Side effects, recruitment, Sex difference, Frequency, Therapeutic approach, Analysis, COVID-19 mortality, Registered, pharmacological, Inclusion, collecting data, develop, include, investigated, eight, analyses, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19, Sex, Gender, clinical study,