Lack of sex- and gender-disaggregated data in diagnostics: findings from a scoping review of five tracer conditions

Bibliographic Details
Title: Lack of sex- and gender-disaggregated data in diagnostics: findings from a scoping review of five tracer conditions
Authors: Vishwanath Upadhyay, Rishabh Gangwar, Gabrielle Landry Chappuis, Mikashmi Kohli
Source: Frontiers in Public Health, Vol 12 (2025)
Publisher Information: Frontiers Media S.A., 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Collection: LCC:Public aspects of medicine
Subject Terms: sex- and gender-disaggregated data in diagnostics, gender disparities in diagnosis of tuberculosis, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), diabetes, malaria, and schistosomiasis, Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270
More Details: BackgroundSex and gender can affect all aspects of health-related behavior, yet there is limited information on how they influence diagnosis of any health condition. This scoping review examined the extent to which sex- and gender-disaggregated data on diagnostics are available for five tracer conditions: tuberculosis, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), diabetes, malaria, and schistosomiasis.MethodsPublications were searched between 2000 and 2022 on PubMed and Google Scholar and screened for relevance. Extracted data were analysed using descriptive quantitative and qualitative approaches.ResultsWe identified 29 relevant articles for tuberculosis, four for diabetes, six for schistosomiasis, eight for COVID-19, and three for malaria. For tuberculosis, most studies looked at gender-based barriers to diagnosis and disparities in health-seeking behaviors that predominantly affected women. For diabetes, studies noted that women had lower odds of being screened for prediabetes and potentially lower quality of care versus men. For schistosomiasis, studies suggested lower sensitivity diagnostic methods among women than men and low awareness of the disease. Studies suggest that women are less likely to be diagnosed for COVID-19 in certain settings. Studies on malaria reported that women show different health-seeking behaviors to men.ConclusionThis scoping review highlights a concerning lack of sex- and gender-disaggregated data on diagnostics. Consequently, further work is required to develop and implement an appropriate framework to assess gender and sex-related data around testing and diagnosis.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2296-2565
Relation: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1484873/full; https://doaj.org/toc/2296-2565
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1484873
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/6f2974f17e8742fda253b56ce567f462
Accession Number: edsdoj.6f2974f17e8742fda253b56ce567f462
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:22962565
DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1484873
Published in:Frontiers in Public Health
Language:English