A new study examining data on Alzheimer’s drug trials and found the people being studied are largely not representative of people on Medicare. The people who participate in the trials tend to be younger. Also, Black participants are underrepresented and Asian people are overrepresented, the study found.
The research highlights the need for diversity in Alzheimer’s disease drug trials, a topic that has been in the spotlight before. Alzheimer’s disease disproportionately affects women and those who are Black and Hispanic. With more drugs coming on to the market, it’s important for the trials to reflect the people who will actually use the drugs, the authors said.
The study was published Nov. 2 in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Authors wanted to pinpoint the demographic details of participants of all completed clinical trials on drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers looked at 277 trials on 159 drugs spanning more than 80,000 people. In 113 trials that reported on race, the scientists found that Black participants were underrepresented and Asian participants were overrepresented. Of all the trials they evaluated, 66 of them (that’s 31.9%) included complete reporting details on the ethnicity of participants. The mean age of people who participated in the trials was 72.7. All of the trials included were between 2008 and 2023. In trials conducted in the US, the trends were similar except Asian people were underrepresented in the studies.
Past studies have evaluated why the trials aren’t representative of people using the drugs. Recruitment strategies and criteria may play a role.
“These factors must continue to be addressed to ensure representative trial participation, and to close knowledge gaps that threaten to exacerbate disparities for older adults and Black adults experiencing a greater burden of disease,” the authors wrote.
The researchers noted that their findings are similar to others that have found medical studies are not diverse.
