Allison Lewin: How Gender Shapes the Way We Receive Medical Care
Allison Lewin, Founder, Women’s Health Strategist, Menopause Coach and Advocate at Menowar, Board Member at HERmedicine, Board Advisor at For The Love Of Cups, Co-Lead, Menopause Education and Congressional Briefing Subcommittee at Women’s Health Advocates, shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent article by Miriam Veenhuizen et al., published in PLOS One, adding:
“Women Are Still Treated Differently In Medicine
A new PLOS One scoping review pulled together five years of research on whether men and women receive different care for the same conditions.
Across specialties, the answer is largely yes.
The findings raise important questions about how sex may influence clinical decision-making.
The Findings Are Hard To Ignore
Of 41 studies, 33 of the 38 retrospective case series from 2018-2023 found a statistically significant difference in how male and female patients were treated.
Women with comparable clinical characteristics were less likely to be offered invasive treatment, and when managed conservatively, less likely to receive guideline-compliant therapy.
Cardiovascular Care Stands Out
Cardiovascular medicine accounted for over 36% of the studies.
Women with a heart attack, heart failure, or certain abnormal heart rhythms were more often given medication than procedures like bypass surgery, stents, or ablation.
And in every study of atherosclerosis, women were less likely to be prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication.
And It’s Not Just Cardiology
Differences were identified across neurology, surgery, emergency medicine, transplantation, psychiatry, primary care, and other specialties, including medications, procedures, referrals, and guideline-compliant care.
But What Does It Mean?
This review does not establish that these differences are discrimination or inappropriate care.
Most studies were retrospective, and differences may reflect clinical factors, patient preferences, access, or other variables.
More research is needed to understand what is driving these patterns and whether they affect outcomes.
My Take
I strongly agree with the call for rigorous, prospective research on how women are treated, not just how they are represented in medicine.
For midlife women, whose cardiovascular risk rises after menopause, potential undertreatment in heart care deserves far more attention.
CVD is the leading cause of death for women globally, making this an especially critical area of research.”
Title: Measured treatment differences between sexes and genders: A scoping review
Authors: Miriam Veenhuizen, Andrew O’Malley
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