Insight: Why research into women’s health matters

In recent years, there has been growing political and public focus on the need for more knowledge about women’s health. As a result, the topic has gained more prominence in public debate. Discussions about new national initiatives suggest that the issue has taken on new urgency.

And for good reason. Women’s health has long been underprioritised – both in research and in clinical practice. According to Professor Lone Kjeld Petersen, this has concrete consequences for diagnosis, quality of life, and health equity. There is also increasing recognition that women have often been excluded from participating in medical studies. Many conditions that primarily affect women are still characterised by significant knowledge gaps.

Lone Kjeld Petersen is Professor at the Department of Clinical Research and Consultant in Charge at the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at Odense University Hospital. Together with Associate Professor Ditte Søndergaard Linde and Professor Christina Anna Vinter, she has authored the article Research in women – Women in research in the Danish Medical Journal.

We asked her – based on her expertise and perspectives – to answer five questions about why women’s health deserves greater attention in both research and healthcare.

Five questions for Lone Kjeld Petersen

1. Why is research into women’s health still an underprioritised area?

Many conditions that primarily affect women have not traditionally been viewed as high-status topics in research – and have therefore not been prioritised. This includes menstruation-related disorders, endometriosis, and certain autoimmune diseases.

Research into reproductive health and hormonal conditions has also often been held back by cultural taboos and a lack of attention. This is problematic because, on average, women live longer than men – but spend more years in poor health or with reduced quality of life. That calls for a far stronger research focus.

2. How have men and women been treated differently in medical research?

For many years, medical research has been shaped by what is known as gender bias – a distortion where men are considered the biological norm. This has meant that clinical trials have often involved a majority of male participants, and the results have then been generalised to the entire population.

Women have frequently been excluded due to concerns about pregnancy and hormonal variation – but the consequence is a significant lack of knowledge about the course of diseases, symptoms, and treatment effects in women.

This is not just a historical footnote – it continues to affect clinical practice today. Gender bias is especially evident in conditions that affect only women. There has been a tendency to interpret symptoms as ‘just female’ rather than investigating them as signs of illness that warrant diagnosis and treatment.

It also means that women are often treated with drug dosages established through studies in men – even though drug metabolism can differ between sexes.

3. What are the consequences of insufficient research into women’s health for patients and healthcare?

The consequences are very real. When we lack knowledge about women’s symptoms and disease progression, the risk of delayed diagnosis and less effective treatment increases.

This is particularly true for cardiovascular diseases, where women’s symptoms often differ from men’s and may therefore be overlooked.

The same applies to chronic pain, autoimmune diseases, and hormonal disorders. Inadequate research means that clinical guidelines do not always reflect women’s needs – which can result in delayed diagnosis and treatment, with long-term consequences for women’s health and quality of life.

4. Why is gender-specific research important for the future of healthcare?

Gender-specific research allows for more accurate diagnoses and more targeted treatment. When gender is systematically included as both a biological and social variable, we gain a stronger foundation for evidence-based, personalised medicine.

At the same time, gender-sensitive research is crucial for addressing health inequality. A healthcare system that reflects knowledge about both men’s and women’s health is better equipped to deliver high-quality treatment to the entire population.

5. What do you and your colleagues see as the most important next steps?

We highlight several essential actions:

• Women must be included to a greater extent in clinical studies
• Gender must be systematically integrated as an analytical variable in research
• There must be greater equality in research leadership and the allocation of research funding
  

And this requires coordinated strategic efforts – both nationally and internationally – if research into women’s health is to be meaningfully advanced. Ultimately, it’s about achieving better, fairer health outcomes for all.