Older adults are often shut out from clinical trials because of their age, even though scientists should be researching how the group would be affected by the medicines in such trials, according to an analysis.
The study, published in The Journal of Internal Medicine, analyzed 109 studies with results that were reported in 2007 in professionals. Although the average age of participants in those trials was 61, one in five of the studies excluded people who had disabilities or pre-existing or who were in nursing homes.
And the studies rarely broke down the results by age subgroupsan omission that can make it even more difficult for individuals to evaluate the studies in terms of their own needs.
Although including hitherto excluded groups would make studies more expensive, the new studys lead author, Donna Zulman, M.D., told The New York Times that participants in medical trials should reflect the population thats being treated in the real world.
