High impact medical journals have the ability to generate substantial changes in clinical research methods, analyses, and reporting through publication guidelines. This week, executive editor of The Lancet, Jocalyn Clark, co-authored an editorial urging for thorough reporting of sex-specific findings in medical journals [1]. The authors analyzed data from 60 clinical trials published in The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine, and found results which require thoughtful attention.  

While the overall number of female participants in clinical research has increased from 37% in 2009 to 41% in 2016, it still falls short of the ideal goal of 50%. Despite the fact that each study included male and female participants, 57% did not perform any sex-specific data analysis. The authors note that The Lancet encourages, but does not require, researchers to analyze data by sex. Therefore, they suggest if high-profile medical journals were to make sex-based analyses and reporting a requirement for publication, this would lead to improved health outcomes for all.

For further reading on this topic:

Sex based subgroup differences in randomized controlled trials: empirical evidence from Cochrane meta-analyses
Wallach et al., BMJ. 2016;355:i5826.

Implications for Journals of Sex-Specific Reporting Policies of Journals
Sex-Specific Reporting of Scientific Research: A Workshop Summary
Institute of Medicine, 2012.

References:
1. Avery and Clark, Lancet. 2016; 388(10062): 2839-2840.