Table 2. Reporting of Population Characteristics in a Sample of 237 Randomized Clinical Trials Published in New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, The BMJ, The Lancet, and Annals of Internal Medicine, January 2014 to July 2020.
| Characteristica | Articles, No. (%) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (N = 237) | 2014 (n = 35) | 2015 (n = 38) | 2016 (n = 36) | 2017 (n = 36) | 2018 (n = 36) | 2019 (n = 39) | 2020 (n = 17) | |
| Age | 234 (98.7) | 35 (100) | 37 (97.4) | 36 (100) | 35 (97.2) | 36 (100) | 39 (100) | 16 (94.1) |
| Sex or genderb | 234 (98.7) | 35 (100) | 38 (100) | 34 (94.4) | 36 (100) | 36 (100) | 39 (100) | 16 (94.1) |
| “Sex”c | 228 (97.4) | 32 (91.4) | 38 (100) | 33 (97.1) | 36 (100) | 35 (97.2) | 38 (97.4) | 16 (100) |
| “Male” onlyc | 228 (97.4) | 17 (48.6) | 16 (42.1) | 10 (29.4) | 15 (41.7) | 11 (30.6) | 8 (20.5) | 6 (37.5) |
| “Gender”c,d | 228 (97.4) | 3 (8.6) | 0 | 1 (2.9) | 0 | 1 (2.8) | 1 (2.6) | 0 |
| Any nonbinary or nonbiological gender category | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Race or ethnicitye | 115 (48.5) | 19 (54.3) | 19 (50) | 16 (44.4) | 15 (41.7) | 17 (47.2) | 24 (61.5) | 5 (29.4) |
| “White” | 16 (13.9) | 4 (22.2) | 4 (21.1) | 1 (6.3) | 2 (13.3) | 2 (11.8) | 3 (12.5) | 0 |
| “White” and “non-White,” “other,” or any second category | 17 (14.8) | 1 (5.6) | 1 (5.3) | 0 | 5 (33.3) | 6 (35.3) | 4 (16.7) | 0 |
| ≥3 Categories | 72 (62.6) | 11 (61.1) | 10 (52.6) | 14 (87.5) | 8 (53.3) | 9 (52.9) | 15 (62.5) | 5 (100) |
| Any indigenous category | 17 (14.8) | 2 (11.1) | 1 (5.3) | 2 (12.5) | 0 | 2 (11.8) | 6 (25) | 4 (80) |
| “Other” category provided | 64 (55.7) | 10 (55.6) | 8 (42.1) | 12 (75) | 8 (53.3) | 11 (64.7) | 13 (54.2) | 2 (40) |
| Language | 7 (2.9) | 0 | 2 (5.3) | 0 | 2 (5.6) | 2 (5.6) | 1 (2.6) | 0 |
| Educational level or literacy | 34 (14.3) | 7 (20) | 2 (5.3) | 5 (13.9) | 5 (13.9) | 8 (22.2) | 5 (12.8) | 2 (11.8) |
| Income or socioeconomic status | 14 (5.9) | 4 (11.4) | 2 (5.3) | 2 (5.6) | 2 (5.6) | 3 (8.3) | 0 | 1 (5.9) |
| Employment status | 14 (5.9) | 2 (5.7) | 2 (5.3) | 1 (2.8) | 3 (8.3) | 4 (11.1) | 2 (5.1) | 0 |
| Housing status | 8 (3.4) | 3 (8.6) | 1 (2.6) | 0 | 1 (2.8) | 2 (5.6) | 1 (2.6) | 0 |
| Health insurance status | 10 (4.2) | 2 (5.7) | 2 (5.3) | 0 | 2 (5.6) | 1 (2.8) | 3 (7.7) | 0 |
a
Terms in quotation marks indicate the actual terminology used in the report.
b
Includes 28 articles that described the population in the text as all men or all women.
c
Sex or gender subcategories are reported as a percentage of 234 randomized clinical trials that reported any descriptor of sex or gender (n=234).
d
Refers to use of the term gender or any nonbiological descriptor of gender identity.
e
Race or ethnicity subcategories are reported as a percentage of 115 randomized clinical trials that reported any descriptor of race or ethnicity.