Historically, women have been excluded from clinical trials and medical research, but it can be shocking to learn it wasn't until 1993 when women were allowed to participate in clinical trials. That has led to a massive discrepancy in women's health care.
women-health.png
CBS
Women's health was extremely understudied for all of time that I'm aware of," said Dr. Judith Regensteiner. "And it just struck me as unfair that women shouldn't have answers for their health based on evidence."
Regensteiner is a cofounder and director of the Ludeman Family Center for Women's Health Research at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. It's her mission to help close the gap on women's health care.
"We're still way, way behind. And for instance, if you go to the doctor for a blood pressure concern -- say your blood pressure is high -- and a man of the same age goes in for a blood pressure concern, you will get exactly the same treatment. There are no sex specific clinical guidelines, but we don't really know if that's appropriate based on data."
Although there's a discrepancy when it comes to medical interventions for issues that affect all people, it's even worse for issues that only affect women.
"We are very far behind on issues that just affect women, such as endometriosis, such as fibroids, such as every condition in women's health. We are finding that these conditions have been under-studied in almost every case."
Regensteiner and her team have trained or mentored over 100 young scientists to carry on this work, and a key aspect is to share their results with the community here in Denver.
"Education is the first step. They just should know that women's health has been under-studied, and that lots of the diagnosis they may be given, the treatments they may be given, you know, the ways we prevent disease really haven't been studied effectively in women yet, and we're working to bring the evidence to the light."
As she's working for answers, Regensteiner wants to send a message.
"I feel very strongly that women should know we're not forgotten."
Nearly half of the scientists here at the Ludeman Center for Women's Health Research also see patients, which equates to about 23,000 patients annually. Their work not only paves the way for much-needed advancements, but improves the lives of countless women.