New Report Examines Lack of Age Diversity in Clinical Trials

The topic of diversity in clinical trials often comes up when discussing digital healthcare. A common use for algorithms is decentralize clinical trials and ensure that a variety of different types of patients are included. While it’s known that clinical trials suffer from a lack of diversity, a new study sheds a light on one aspect of the situation.

RBW Consulting announced a new report that provides a detailed look at the issues with age inclusivity in clinical trials.

In a press release, the recruitment and search consultancy explains that the report examines the potential causes for a lack of participants over the age of 60 in clinical trials. According to the report, there are several reasons why this may occur.

Younger participants are typically healthier than older ones and it is assumed that this puts them at less risk for adverse events. Also, older participants might face practical barriers to participating, such as access difficulties or simply dealing with the burden of treatment.

This results in cleaner data sets, as younger participants often have less comorbidities and take fewer medications. The report does note, however, that trials often require data in these areas. Without older participants, trial results may lack nuance and not paint a full picture to how patients of all varieties will react to a medication.

The full report can be found here.