Cure8 research brief
Clinical trials shape available treatments and evidence; if groups of children (by race, ethnicity, or sex) are underrepresented, study results may not reflect how treatments work for them. This paper identifies persistent underrepresentation that could affect equity in pediatric IBD care.
Parents/caregivers of children with IBD; pediatric patients and teens; pediatric gastroenterologists and trial investigators; researchers focused on trial diversity and health equity.
This study systematically reviewed pediatric IBD clinical trials through March 2026 to evaluate how race, ethnicity, and sex are reported and how trial enrollment compares with expected disease burden. The authors pooled data from 145 trials with 8,273 pediatric participants and compared trial enrollment to reference distributions (U.S.
race/ethnicity from PCORnet and global sex distribution from GBD 2023). They found consistent reporting for sex and race; ethnicity reporting improved over time.
Female and Black children were underrepresented relative to expected disease burden, Hispanic children were underrepresented in analyses with fewer trials, and Asian/Pacific Islander children were overrepresented. Trends over time showed increases for Asian/Pacific Islander, female, and Hispanic enrollment but a small decline for Black participants.
The paper concludes that enforceable diversity action plans and standardized demographic reporting are needed to improve equitable representation in pediatric IBD trials.
The article is a systematic evaluation using trial data through March 2026 and reference population estimates; it reports enrollment incidence ratios rather than clinical treatment effects. Some subgroup findings (eg, Hispanic representation) are based on fewer trials.
Review the original publication for the complete reporting, methods, and context.
This Cure8 brief is based on source text from the linked article. Cure8 is informational only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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