Emily Kwong

This is dangerous for everyone because of the oversimplification of the two-bucket system, blue and pink.

I think about this all the time.

Like when I go to the gym, there are so many different types of bodies.

Even if people are the same sex, they can look vastly, vastly different.

So averages can only take us so far because at the end of the day, doctors are treating individuals.

Exactly.

Marina also brought this up to us.

Of course there is.

Tell me.

Right.

Like in drug research, we may see differences in outcomes that we think have to do with sex, but actually it could come from a multitude of different factors.

Oh, yes.

That's wild.

Given these examples, ambia and heart attack symptoms, it makes me think about how sex is such a problematic variable when it comes to research, right?

Because sex difference is so nuanced.

So hot take, should we just not look at sex in medical research at all and maybe just put everyone together in one big group?

You're saying it is still important to include both men and women in medical studies.

Yes, but we need to be more specific about it and more inclusive.

And if we find a difference, we should think about whether that is because society treats different sexes differently.

Okay, and Angela, Dr. Zhang, what kind of medical world do you wanna live in that would get around this problem?