Fewer than half of nationally funded health studies break down findings by sex, which could lead to missed insights

MedicalXpress | 四月 27, 2026

A decade ago, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began requiring scientists to "consider sex as a biological variable" in order to receive NIH grant funding—a policy intended to encourage scientists to think ahead about whether being biologically male or female could influence the results of their research. However, scientists may be missing important sex differences that could affect diagnosis, treatment, dosing and health outcomes for millions of people, according to a study published in Nature Communications Medicine.