ArticleEClinicalMedicine2020
The "sex gap" in COVID-19 trials: a scoping review.
Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.
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
33 citing papers in PubMed.
- Roles of sex and SP-A genetic variants in modulating multiorgan injuries post viral infection.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Sex, hormones, and lung health.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Mitigated deployment strategy for ethical AI in clinical settings.BMJ health & care informatics · 2025Article
- Why gender and sex matter in infectious disease modelling: A conceptual framework.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- COVID-19 and stroke in women: impact on clinical, psychosocial and research aspects.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2024Review
- Sex differences in airway disease: estrogen and airway surface liquid dynamics.Biology of sex differences · 2024Review
- The association between coronary artery calcification and vectorcardiography in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients: the Maastricht Intensive Care COVID cohort.Intensive care medicine experimental · 2024Article
- Sex-Related Differences in the Pharmacological Response in SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Dyslipidemia, and Diabetes Mellitus: A Narrative Review.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The Representation of Females in Studies on Antihypertensive Medication over the Years: A Scoping Review.Biomedicines · 2023Article
- The COVID-19 Mortality Rate Is Associated with Illiteracy, Age, and Air Pollution in Urban Neighborhoods: A Spatiotemporal Cross-Sectional Analysis.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2023Article
- Impact of Physical Activity on COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Pulmonary pathophysiology development of COVID-19 assessed by serial Electrical Impedance Tomography in the MaastrICCht cohort.Scientific reports · 2022Observational
- Exclusion of women from COVID-19 studies harms women's health and slows our response to pandemics.Biology of sex differences · 2022Review
- Article
- Age is the main determinant of COVID-19 related in-hospital mortality with minimal impact of pre-existing comorbidities, a retrospective cohort study.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- COVID-19 vaccine trials and sex-disaggregated data.Expert review of vaccines · 2022Article
- Attention for sex in COVID-19 trials: a review of regulatory dossiers.BMJ global health · 2022Review
- Better COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit survival in females, independent of age, disease severity, comorbidities, and treatment.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Sex-related susceptibility in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Proposed mechanisms.European journal of pharmacology · 2021Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
20 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMany studies investigate the role of pharmacological treatments on disease course in Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Sex disparities in genetics, immunological responses, and hormonal mechanisms may underlie the substantially higher fatality rates reported in male COVID-19 patients. To optimise care for COVID-19 patients, prophylactic and therapeutic studies should include sex-specific design and analyses. Therefore, in this scoping review, we investigated whether studies on pharmacological treatment in COVID-19 were performed based on a priori sex-specific design or post-hoc sex-specific analyses.
methodsWe systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, UpToDate, clinical trial.org, and MedRxiv for studies on pharmacological treatment for COVID-19 until June 6th, 2020. We included case series, randomized controlled trials, and observational studies in humans (≥18 years) investigating antiviral, antimalarial, and immune system modulating drugs. Data were collected on 1) the proportion of included females, 2) whether sex stratification was performed (a priori by design or post-hoc), and 3) whether effect modification by sex was investigated.
findings30 studies were eligible for inclusion, investigating remdesivir (
interpretationAnalyses assessing potential interference of sex with (side-)effects of pharmacological therapy for COVID-19 are rarely reported. Considering sex differences in case-fatality rates and genetic, immunological, and hormonal mechanisms, studies should include sex-specific analyses in their design to optimise COVID-19 care.
fundingNone.
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What 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.