ArticleEthnicity & disease2012
Characterization of clinical study populations by race and ethnicity in biomedical literature.
Article in Ethnicity & disease, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of isoflavone interventions on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2020Pooled it
- Systematic review: methodological flaws in racial/ethnic reporting for gastroesophageal reflux disease.Diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus · 2018Pooled it
- Minding the Gatekeepers: Referral and Recruitment of Postpartum Mothers with Depression into a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Mobile Internet Parenting Intervention to Improve Mood and Optimize Infant Social Communication Outcomes.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- Are older adult research participants representative of the general population? Results from 19 clinical studies at one academic research center.Contemporary clinical trials · 2026Article
- Diversity-in-a-dish: A practical framework for hiPSC model development.Stem cell reports · 2026Review
- Towards a minimal core dataset for systemic lupus erythematosus studies.Lupus science & medicine · 2025Article
- The use of race and ethnicity in sickle cell disease research.BMC medical research methodology · 2025Review
- Characteristics of Abusive Relationships with Presence of Firearms: Impact of Partners' Firearm Ownership on Immigrant Women's Mental Health and Safety-Related Empowerment.Journal of family trauma, child custody & child development · 2025Article
- Disparities in Visual Field Testing Frequency Among Subjects With Glaucoma.Translational vision science & technology · 2024Article
- Review
- Reporting of data on participant ethnicity and socioeconomic status in high-impact medical journals: a targeted literature review.BMJ open · 2022Review
- Use of race, ethnicity, and ancestry data in health research.PLOS global public health · 2022Review
- The Reporting of Race and Ethnicity in Surgery Literature.JAMA surgery · 2021Article
- Racial/ethnic representation in lifestyle weight loss intervention studies in the United States: A systematic review.Preventive medicine reports · 2018Review
- What is the extent and quality of documentation and reporting of fidelity to implementation strategies: a scoping review.Implementation science : IS · 2015Article
- Cardiorenal metabolic syndrome and cardiometabolic risks in minority populations.Cardiorenal medicine · 2014Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe importance of race and ethnicity in biomedical research has long been a subject of debate, recently heightened by data revealed by the completion of the sequencing of the human genome and the mapping of human genetic variation. We aimed to determine whether and how the reporting of race has changed over the last three decades and how the practice may differ given study location, where the journal of publication is based, and decade of publication.
designWe analyzed a sample of studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, and the Canadian Medical Association Journal from 1980 to 2009.
main outcome measuresThe number of articles that reported race by journal and decade and the descriptors used.
resultsOf 1867 articles analyzed, 17.30% reported race. The reporting of race and number of populations reported increased over time for all three journals. In addition, the diversity of race/ethnicity descriptors increased, with increased use of race/ethnicity combinations and nationality of research subjects.
conclusionThough it has increased over the past few decades, the reporting of race/ethnicity of study populations is relatively low, ambiguous and inconsistent, likely influenced by the uncertain relevance of these variables to the study's outcomes, study location, researcher views, and the policies of journals and funding agencies. Thus, due to the inconsistent and ambiguous practice of reporting race/ethnicity, comparison of study outcomes can result in misleading conclusions. Improvements in standardization of terms and new approaches to characterize research participants related to race/ethnicity are imperative.
Indexed as
Identifiers
22774316PMC3412405What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.