Abstract
SummaryBackgroundThe variables sex and gender are significantly related to health and disease of women and men. Aiming at quality research, biomedical publications need to account for the key variables sex and gender.MethodsAll original articles published in the Wiener klinische Wochenschrift between 2013 and 2015 were extracted into a database. As a result, the 195 published articles were selected for review led by the Sex and Gender Equity in Research Guidelines (SAGER) by the European Association of Science Editors (EASE). The slightest indications of mentioning sex and/or gender were assessed by two reviewers independently from one another.ResultsOf the 195 publications 4 specified sex and/or gender in the title, and 62 in the abstract. None of the authors reported whether the variables sex and/or gender may have relevance and were taken into account in the design of the study. Of the 195 publications 48 mentioned the potential implications of sex and/or gender on the study results.ConclusionIn the time span studied most of the selected articles of this journal did not account for the variables sex and/or gender systematically or adequately. For future research the existing guidelines can help authors and editors to overcome gender bias due to inadequate methods. Applying sex and gender-sensitive methods to biomedical and health research is necessary for high quality and as a precondition for results which are generalizable and applicable to both women and men.
Highlights
In the second women’s movement in the 1970s, feminists fought for self-determined pregnancy, abortion and maternal services as a human right [1]
In 2001, the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report stating that sex must be considered in all aspects and all levels of biomedical research [5]
We researched and extracted all original articles published in the Wiener klinische Wochenschrift in the chosen period into a database
Summary
In the second women’s movement in the 1970s, feminists fought for self-determined pregnancy, abortion and maternal services as a human right [1]. In the 1990s, female cardiologists published their research results on sex bias in managing coronary heart disease of women in the USA [2, 3]. Authors should report, where relevant, whether sex and/or gender differences may be expected. Authors should report how sex and gender were taken into account in the design of the study, whether they ensured adequate representation of males and females, and justify the reasons for any exclusion of males or females. Data on withdrawals and dropouts should be reported disaggregated by sex. The potential implications of sex and gender on the study results and analyses should be discussed. Authors should further discuss the implications of the lack of such analysis on the interpretation of the results
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
