Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds of U.S. Randomized Controlled Trials in
Obstetrics and Gynecology and Comparison to U.S. General Population: A
Retrospective Review
Abstract
Objective: To determine if the racial and ethnic compositions of the
participants in Obstetrics and Gynecology randomized controlled trials
(RCTs) conducted in the U.S. match that of the general U.S. population.
Design: Retrospective analysis of U.S. RCTs. Setting: United States.
Population: Women enrolled in U.S. RCTs. Methods: Racial and ethnic
composition of RCT participants published in two premier US journals,
Obstetrics and Gynecology and American Journal of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, from January 2010 to April 2020 were collected and analyzed.
Main outcome measures: Comparison of the racial and ethnic composition
of the U.S. RCTs to U.S. General population. Results: Chi-square
analysis showed significant deviations from the U.S. general population
in both Obstetrics (p<0.001) and Gynecology
(p<0.05). We observed an overrepresentation of Black race and
an underrepresentation of White and Asian races overall Obstetrics and
in most subcategories. We observed an overrepresentation of Black race
and an underrepresentation of Asian race in Gynecology overall and in
most subcategories. White race representation was similar to the general
population on average, but with wide variation across studies especially
among the subcategories. Hispanic ethnicity was overall
underrepresented. Conclusions: RCTs in the field of Obstetrics and
Gynecology conducted in the U.S. deviate from the general population
with regard to racial and ethnic distributions. Funding: NC,YW, CP, JG
and SL received stipend from University of Chicago Metcalf summer
internship program and Odyssey and Empower summer program. Keywords:
U.S. Randomized Controlled Trials, Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds,
Obstetrics and Gynecology