Why Does Medical Science Know So Little About The Female Body?

2022-08-24

Journalist Gabrielle Jackson reveals how the research for her book Pain and Prejudice uncovered just how little medical science understands the female body. Astonishingly, it turns out that most of what we know about human biology comes from the study of men, male animals and male cell lines. Up until the 1990s, women were largely excluded from medical trials. The result of this is that there are many drugs in use today that were never trialled on women. And in fact, eight out of ten drugs that were ...

Up until the 1990s, women were largely excluded from medical trials. The result of this is that there are many drugs in use today that were never trialled on women.

And in fact, eight out of ten drugs that were taken off the market by the US Food and Drug Administration between 1997 and 2000, were removed due to the greater health risks for women.

As Dr Janine Clayton, Head of the Office for Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health Center puts it: "We literally know less about every aspect of female biology compared to male biology".

What Your GP Doesn't Tell You is hosted by Liz Tucker an award winning medical journalist, and former BBC producer/director. You can find out more about Liz and the podcast at whatyourgpdoesnttellyou.com, subscribe to Liz's Substack newsletter with weekly podcast updates at liztucker.substack.com and follow Liz on Twitter at @lizctucker

And if you would like to support the podcast you can do so at patreon.com/whatyourgpdoesnttellyou.com

Comments (3)