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Femtech must acknowledge the risk of perpetuating medical racism, say campaigners
Campaigners have warned that health tools could overlook women from marginalised communities
Femtech must address medical racism, campaigners have warned, amid concern that the sector could be perpetuating long-standing racial inequities.
Femtech is already showing promise to help clinicians make better diagnoses and support women with managing their health.
But as excitement grows, campaigners have warned that these powerful tools could overlook women from marginalised communities and perpetuate long-standing racial inequities in how care is delivered.
“Any technology meant to help people track and improve women’s health outcomes must be inclusive and anti-racist,” Dr Regina Davis Moss, president and CEO of In Our Own Voice, told Femtech World.
“Black women have historically been disregarded, overlooked and undermined by the medical technology industry. It is past time for our interests and needs to be prioritised in clinical trials and other forms of scientific research.
“Femtech companies must ensure that their research and clinical trials equitably involve communities of all backgrounds.”
Around 2,000 femtech companies and apps have sprung up in the last decade to address women’s needs, including tracking apps, fertility solutions and menopause platforms.
These new tools are often built using machine learning, a subset of AI where algorithms are trained to find patterns in large data sets like billing information and test results.
The data these algorithms are built on, however, often reflect inequities and bias that have long plagued the healthcare system. Research shows clinicians often provide different care to white patients and patients of colour. Those differences in how patients are treated get immortalised in data, which are then used to train algorithms.
“When our research omits subsets of the population, the accuracy and potential benefits of that research do not extend to those who disproportionately bear the burden of disease,” said Dr Monique Gary, breast surgical oncologist at Grand View Health.
“We are seeing already how AI can harm marginalised communities, where biased algorithms require racial or ethnic minorities to be considerably ‘more ill’ than their white counterparts to receive the same diagnosis, treatment, or resource. This is perilous and avoidable.”
To create responsible and equitable technologies that include BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour) women, Gary said companies could start identifying and recruiting experts of colour, via pipeline programmes and incubators.
“We need to start listening to, believing and supporting the voices of Black women,” she said.
“In 2024, women of all ages and races, ethnicities and orientations are telling us out loud what they need to actualise a better version of healthcare which incorporates significant tech utilisation. It’s now up to us to listen.”
Ashley Jones, creative director of Tones of Melanin, said femtech must acknowledge the risk of perpetuating medical racism and prioritise inclusivity.
“Companies in femtech should actively seek out diverse perspectives and experiences, particularly from BIPOC women, in both their datasets and research.
“This includes collaborating with BIPOC brands, stakeholders and organisations to ensure that their products address the specific needs and concerns of BIPOC women.”
Tech developers, Jones said, could address racism by implementing robust diversity and inclusion initiatives within their teams, actively seeking out BIPOC voices in decision-making processes and educating themselves on the unique experiences of BIPOC women in healthcare.
Sylvia Kang, co-founder and CEO at Mira, pointed out that femtech companies should also focus on affordability, as cost can be preventing women from marginalised communities from accessing healthcare.
“Most of the people that can access femtech tools for their health are white mid-to-high income women,” Kang explained.
“Unfortunately, there are some communities, including BIPOC that do not have enough resources to purchase these tools.
“I believe it’s our responsibility to take action and democratise our data and tools in specific ways.”
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Small bowel microbiome differences between women and men may help explain why some conditions are more common in women, a study suggests.
The small bowel microbiome is the community of microorganisms living in this part of the digestive tract, where they play vital roles in immune function, metabolism and hormonal regulation.
Researchers found differences between women and men in the composition and organisation of these microbial communities. One bacterial community containing Granulicatella was found only in women.
The study was conducted by investigators at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University.
Ruchi Mathur, director of clinical research and clinical operations for the Medically Associated Science and Technology (MAST) Program at Cedars-Sinai and corresponding author of the study, said: “One intriguing finding was a bacterial community containing Granulicatella, which we found only in women.
“Bacteria in this community appear at increased levels in women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome.”
The researchers also identified differences between women and men in how microbes in the small bowel produce fructans, complex carbohydrates known to trigger digestive symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
IBS is far more common in women than men.
Mathur, who is also a professor of medicine, said: “Our findings show that biological sex is a critical variable in the small bowel microbiome.
“We must consider it as we move toward more personalised approaches to understanding and treating disease.”
An experimental cancer drug reduced bone loss and body fat in mice modelling post-menopausal changes, early research suggests.
The compound, CADD522, appeared to strengthen bones and help the animals stay leaner after surgery designed to mimic hormonal changes seen after menopause.
The treatment remains at an early experimental stage and has so far only been tested in animals.
The study, led by the University of East Anglia, investigated CADD522, which was originally developed to block a protein involved in the growth and spread of several cancers.
Mice treated with the compound for eight weeks showed significant improvements in bone health. Scans found increased bone volume and better preservation of the honeycomb-like structures inside bones that are crucial for strength and resilience.
Blood tests suggested the treatment stimulated new bone growth without interfering with the body’s normal process of breaking down and rebuilding bone.
Dr Darrell Green, lead researcher from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Osteoporosis affects around one in three women over the age of 50, leaving sufferers vulnerable to painful fractures that can seriously impact quality of life.
“Current treatments exist, but many are plagued by side effects, safety concerns or inconvenient dosing schedules that make long-term use difficult.”
The researchers also found that mice receiving CADD522 weighed less than untreated mice despite eating the same amount of food.
They had less body fat and fewer fat deposits in their bone marrow, a process commonly seen after menopause and linked to declining bone health.
The team also examined brain tissue and found that the drug appeared to reverse several menopause-related changes in fatty acids.
Levels of omega-3 fats including DHA remained largely intact, while several other lipid abnormalities shifted back towards healthier patterns.
Green said: “We didn’t directly test for memory or thinking ability, but our work raises questions about whether this drug could one day help address wider menopause-related health problems.”
Safety experiments in mice, rats and dogs found that CADD522 could be taken orally and was well tolerated.
The compound also appeared to be metabolised more slowly in human tissue than in rodents, potentially improving its performance in people.
“This is still in the early stages and has so far only been tested in animals but we hope that the benefits will translate to humans to ultimately reduce fracture rates,” added Green.
The research was led by UEA in collaboration with the University of Maryland, the Scintillon Research Institute in San Diego and the University of Stirling.
Safety testing was funded by The Sir William Coxen Trust as part of the development of CADD522 as a childhood cancer treatment.
Weight loss surgery was linked to more regular periods and fewer polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) symptoms in women aged 18 to 45 living with obesity in a recent study.
The researchers recommend that women undergoing the procedure have access to preconception care and reproductive counselling to support their reproductive health.
Researchers at the University of Surrey analysed data over 24 months from 84 women who underwent bariatric surgery and 18 women living with obesity who did not have surgery.
Of those who underwent surgery, 49 had gastric bypass procedures and 35 had gastric sleeve surgery.
Women who underwent metabolic bariatric surgery lost more than 30kg on average at 12 and 24 months after the procedure.
Among women with polycystic ovaries, the condition persisted in only 10 per cent after 24 months.
Women also reported a resolution of clinical hirsutism, or excess body hair, by 12 months.
Women who had previously experienced irregular periods reported more regular menstrual cycles after surgery.
Professor Martin Whyte, co-author of the study and professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Surrey, said: “A large proportion of those undergoing bariatric surgery are women of reproductive age, who may be planning a pregnancy in the coming years.
“So much remains unknown about the impact of this type of surgery on women who are planning to have children.
“This raises the question of when the ideal time after surgery is to conceive.”
Women have a higher prevalence of obesity than men, with 57 per cent of women in the UK classified as overweight and 27 per cent living with obesity, which can affect fertility and the health of an unborn baby.
The researchers said 17 women had healthy pregnancies following surgery.
Although this was not specifically examined in the study, no difference in birth weight was observed between babies conceived within or after the first year.
Dr Kathryn Hart, co-author of the study and associate professor in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Surrey, said: “What we have found is that bariatric surgery positively affects the reproductive health of women living with obesity and can improve the likelihood of them having a healthy pregnancy after surgery.
“Dysregulated hormone levels, irregular periods and conditions such as polycystic ovaries are affected by obesity.
“By reducing this, what we have seen is that it can lead to improvements without the need for medication.
“We would suggest that clinicians consider medical intervention for obesity to treat irregularities in the menstrual cycle and issues with fertility.”
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