On Monday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order promoting women’s health research in light of Women’s History Month.
“My Administration is committed to getting women the answers they need about their health. For far too long, scientific and biomedical research excluded women and undervalued the study of women’s health,” Biden wrote. “The resulting research gaps mean that we know far too little about women’s health across women’s lifespans, and those gaps are even more prominent for women of color, older women, and women with disabilities.”
Under the executive order, support will be given to research regarding women's midlife health and diseases that are common after menopause, including heart disease and osteoporosis. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be ordered to further collect data about women’s midlife health and search for methods to enhance the management of issues surrounding menopause. Following menopause, women’s ovaries produce less estrogen, which makes them prone to health issues, including heart disease and osteoporosis, ABC News reports.
In the executive order, Biden stated members of the initiative would labor to "improve the recruitment, enrollment, and retention of women in clinical trials, including, as appropriate, by reducing barriers through technological and data sciences advances."
During a press call Sunday afternoon, Dr. Carolyn Mazure, chairperson of the White House Initiative on Women's Health Research, noted that the recently signed order will also focus on health conditions affecting women, including Alzheimer's disease and rheumatoid arthritis. According to an article published in Harvard Health Publishing from Harvard Medical School, women have an increased lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than men, since women have a longer lifespan than men.
At the same time, however, it is uncertain whether there are any biomarkers or unknown factors placing women’s health at risk. For instance, women are up to three times more likely than men to be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although several factors, including sex hormones, play a role when it comes to the condition, researchers contend that further research should be conducted to understand why women are more likely to develop RA and also why different joints are affected in women compared to men.
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
