A growing body of research shows that sex and gender differences influence our health across the lifespan. The COVID-19 pandemic provides a clear example of why we must consider both sex and gender in research. Men are more likely than women to die from the virus, while women seem more likely to suffer long-term side effects.
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) and the Endocrine Society hosted a virtual congressional briefing to discuss the importance of including sex as a biological variable (SABV) in research, provide an update on National Institutes of Health (NIH) 2016 SABV policy and how the field has changed in the past five years, and offer recommendations for overcoming barriers to the inclusion of SABV in research, ensuring better health care for all.