Sex and Gender Health Collaborative

Educational:

• First Sex and Gender Interprofessional Health Education Summit held at the University of Utah

Educational:

• Publication of 3rd edition of Principles of Gender Specific Medicine by Dr. Legato

Educational:

• Publication of textbook Sex and Gender in Acute Care Medicine
• Publication of new journal Gender and the Genome

Research:

• NIH dictates that all federally funded cellular and animal research must include both sexes of cells and animals where appropriate beginning in 2016

Educational:

• First Sex and Gender Medical Education Summit held at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN

Research:

• The FDA provides guidelines for sex-specific patient enrollment, data analysis, and reporting of study information for medical device applications

Legislation, National, and International Initiatives:

• Research for All Act introduced in Congress for equity in basic and clinical research. Resubmitted in Congress in 2015

Clinical:

• The recommended dosage for sleep medications containing Zolpidem is changed by the FDA after studies show that the previously recommended dose may be too high, particularly in women. Women are found to metabolize the drug more slowly, putting them at greater risk for next-day impairment.

Research:

• A study published in Neuroscience shows that ApoE4, a common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease, has been found to cause changes in brain activity and cerebral spinal fluid in health adult women but not in men

Educational:

• The Sex and Gender Women’s Health Collaborative is established
• Publication of: Sex and Gender Aspects in Clinical Medicine
• Publication of: Handbook of Clinical Gender Medicine
• Publication of: Sex and Gender Differences in Pharmacology
• Experts from US medical schools, schools of public health, NIH, HRSA, OWH, and ORWH convene at the Mayo Clinic for 2 days to address the need for curricular change. Sex and Gender Medical Education

Research:

• The FDA releases a draft guidance on the role of sex differences in determining the safety and effectiveness of medical devices. They recommend not only increased enrollment of women in clinical trails of medical devices, but also greater analysis and reporting of study results based on sex

Clinical:

• Publication of Update: Guidelines for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in women

Educational:

• Division of Sex and Gender in Emergency Medicine founded, first division in emergency medicine dedicated to advancing clinical care through sex and gender specific research, education, and advocacy

Research:

• An IOM report finds that despite increasing progress in women’s health research, there are still significant gaps, including in the reporting and analysis of research data by sex

Legislation, National, and International Initiatives:

• The Women’s Health Office Act (WHOA) becomes law. This act makes permanent the Offices of Women’s Health in 5 federal agencies, including the CDC and the FDA

Educational:

• Publication of: Biology of Sex Differences Journal

Research:

• The NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health creates the Advancing Novel Science in Women’s Health Research (ANSWHR) grant

Legislation, National, and International Initiatives:

• National Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health are defunded

Educational:

• Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health is established at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC)

Research:

• The Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine is founded by Dr. Marianne Legato
• The Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) is founded by member scientists of the Society for Women’s Health Research

Research:

• SGOMSEC concludes that sex differences are essential to the study of toxicology

Clinical:

• A large-scale randomized trial of low-dose aspirin use in women finds that aspirin decreases the risk of ischemic stroke in women, while having little to no effect on the risk of heart attack in women under age 65

Educational:

• The Scientific Group on Methodologies for the Safety Evaluation of Chemicals (SGOMSEC) holds a workshop on Gender Differences and Human and Ecological Risk. The group concludes that sex differences are essential to the study of toxicology

Educational:

• Publication of: Principles of Gender-Specific Medicine by Dr. Marianne Legato

Research:

• The Women’s Health Initiative’s large-scale study on hormone replacement therapy is halted 3 years early after participants on estrogen and progestin therapy are found to have an increased risk of heart attack, blood clots, stroke, and breast cancer compared to placebo

Research:

• The Institute of Medicine (IOM) releases a report entitled: Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter? It concludes that sex differences affect human health throughout the lifespan. The study of sex differences should be a research agenda priority.

Clinical:

• A report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office reveals that 80% of drugs withdrawn from the market since 1997 are more likely to cause adverse effects in women than in men

Research:

• NIH ORWH creates the BIRCWH career development program for junior faculty interested in women’s health and sex differences research

Legislation, National, and International Initiatives:

• DHHS allocated funding for National Community Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health

Educational:

• Women’s Health Core Competencies was developed by the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) to address women’s health gaps in medical school curricula
• Publication of Academic Medicine special issue on sex, gender, and women’s health in medical education

Clinical:

• Publication of Guide to Preventive Cardiology for Women by Dr. Lori Mosca

Educational:

• Publication of Textbook of Women’s Health by Dr. Lila Wallis

Educational:

• Publication of Women’s Health in the Curriculum: A resource guide for faculty by NAWHME
• The American College of Women’s Health Physicians was founded with the goal of advancing the art and science of women’s health

Legislation, National, and International Initiatives:

• DHHS allocates funding for National Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health across the country. These centers are established to provide comprehensive health care for women, advance women’s health research, integrate women’s health content into medical education, and advance women in academic medicine

Educational:

• The Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) calls for expanded education in women’s health beyond reproductive health

Legislation, National, and International Initiatives:

• Office of Women’s Health is established at the FDA
• The United Nations International Conference on Population and Development is held in Cairo. The conference affirms the role of women’s education and empowerment in improving health outcomes and quality of life.

Research:

• The Clinical Equity Provision within the NIH Revitalization Act requires that women and minorities be considered as participants in all human subjects research

Educational:

• The Advanced Curriculum on Women’s Health was created by the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA)

Educational:

• Publication of the first issue of Journal of Women’s Health first issue

Research:

• Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) is funded and launched in 1991

Legislation, National, and International Initiatives:

• Office of Women’s Health is established at USDHHS

Research:

• The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) was founded

Legislation, National, and International Initiatives:

• The Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues introduces the Women’s Health Equity Act, which contains 20 separate bills that seek to improve women’s health outcomes and advance scientific research. Although the bill did not pass, it prompts the NIH to create the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) that same year.

Educational:

• Publication of Women’s Health Issues Journal first issue

Research:

• A U.S. Public Health Service task force finds that the exclusion of women from clinical research has a negative impact women’s health

Research:

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bars women of child-bearing potential from participating in most early phase clinical research

Educational:

• Publication of: Our Bodies, Ourselves by The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective

Educational:

• The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is founded to address the unequal representation of women in medicine