In a piece with US News and World Report, Alana C. Serota, MD, CCFP, CCD, internal medicine physician at HSS, addresses a critical issue: decades of underinvestment in women’s health research have left millions without answers to fundamental questions about their bodies. While women make up half of the U.S. population, female-specific conditions account for only 5% of biopharmaceutical research spending—and just 1% of that focuses on non-cancer conditions like menopause and infertility. This imbalance has real consequences, from delayed diagnoses to inadequate pain management.

The piece highlights musculoskeletal health as an example. New HSS research shows women with osteoarthritis experience more pain and inflammation than men, yet these differences remain poorly understood. Hormonal changes during pregnancy and menopause further complicate care, increasing risks for joint instability, bone loss, and chronic pain—issues that often go under researched and undertreated.

Read the full article at usnews.com.