Assessing Ethnic Minority Representation in Fibromyalgia Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review of Recruitment Demographics

Peter Henley, Tanimola Martins and Reza Zamani ()
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Peter Henley: Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
Tanimola Martins: Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
Reza Zamani: Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 24, 1-14

Abstract: The under-representation of non-White participants in Western countries in clinical research has received increased attention, due to recognized physiological differences between ethnic groups, which may affect the efficacy and optimal dosage of some treatments. This review assessed ethnic diversity in pharmaceutical trials for fibromyalgia, a poorly understood chronic pain disorder. We also investigated longitudinal change to non-White participant proportions in trials and non-White participants’ likelihood to discontinue with fibromyalgia research between trial stages (retention). First, we identified relevant trials conducted in the United States and Canada between 2000 and 2022, by searching PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library databases. In trials conducted both across the United States and Canada, and exclusively within the United States, approximately 90% of participants were White. A longitudinal analysis also found no change in the proportion of non-White participants in trials conducted across the United States and Canada between 2000 and 2022. Finally, we found no significant differences in trial retention between White and non-White participants. This review highlights the low numbers of ethnic minorities in fibromyalgia trials conducted in the United States and Canada, with no change to these proportions over the past 22 years. Furthermore, non-White participants were not more likely to discontinue with the fibromyalgia research once they were recruited.

Keywords: fibromyalgia; trials; non-White; ethnic minorities; underrepresentation; pharmaceutical; retention; longitudinal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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