{
  "abstract": "Objectives The under-representation of women in cardiovascular clinical trials is well documented but cannot be fully explained by sex-specific differences in disease prevalence. We investigated sex-related and age-related disparities in study participation within an atrial fibrillation (AF) screening study conducted among hospitalised patients.Design Prospective cohort study.Setting In-hospital patients in a single tertiary care centre in Bern, Switzerland.Participants Patients aged 65–84 years evaluated for inclusion in the The SilenT AtRial FIBrillation cohort study, with inclusion stratified by sex and age.Interventions Screening for AF using three consecutive 7-day Holter ECG recordings.Primary and secondary outcome measures Prevalence of clinical and non-clinical exclusion criteria and participation rates among eligible patients, stratified by sex and age.Results Of 11 470 patients evaluated, 10 675 were not enrolled. Clinical exclusion criteria were more prevalent among men than women (60.2% vs 50.5%, p<0.001), with prevalence increasing with age in both sexes. Consequently, fewer men met eligibility criteria compared with women (24.3% vs 32.6%, p<0.001). Among eligible patients, women were less likely to participate than men (20.2% vs 30.0%, p<0.001), and participation declined with advancing age in both sexes. Eligible men aged <75 years demonstrated the highest participation rate (34%).Conclusions Significant sex-dependent and age-dependent disparities exist in both the prevalence of clinical exclusion criteria and participation rates among eligible patients in an AF screening study. These differences should be carefully considered in the design and planning of future clinical studies to improve representativeness.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Hildegard Tanner"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Chrisoula Dernektsi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Felix Neugebauer"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Eleni Goulouti"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Anna Lam"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Elena Elchinova"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Nikolas Nozica"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Helge Servatius"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Fabian Noti"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland",
        "Sitem Center for Translational Medicine and Biomedical Entrepreneurship, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Andreas Haeberlin"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Gregor Thalmann"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Nikola Asenov Kozhuharov"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department General Internal Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland",
        "Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Nicolas Rodondi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department General Internal Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Drahomir Aujesky"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Thomas Kueffer"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Peter Jüni"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Tobias Reichlin"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Laurent Roten"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Sex-based and age-based differences in participation in an in-hospital atrial fibrillation screening study: a prospective cohort study in Switzerland",
  "uid": "09837062-6232-580f-9005-f125cf8bbf6b"
}