P872 Underrepresentation of Palestinian Citizens of Israel in Israeli Inflammatory Bowel Disease Trials
Hassan, M.(1);Ghersin, I.(2)*;
(1)Rambam Health Care Campus, Department of Internal Medicine “H”, Haifa, Israel;(2)Rambam Health Care Campus, Department of Gastroenterology, Haifa, Israel;
Background
Recent studies have described a significant racial disparity, with a very low proportion of racial minorities, in clinical trials of therapies for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), along with limited reporting of ethnicity data.
Palestinian citizens of Israel (commonly referred to as Israeli Arabs) are Israel’s largest ethnic minority, comprising 21% of the Israeli population. This minority group suffers from substantial health inequalities, as evidenced by increased rates of obesity, smoking and diabetes and a lower life expectancy compared to Israeli Jews. It is worth noting that the incidence of IBD among Palestinian citizens of Israel is on the rise.
We sought to describe ethnic representation in Israeli IBD clinical trials.
Methods
We systematically reviewed Israeli IBD trials from the past 20 years.
Each publication was examined for ethnicity data.
The proportion of trials reporting ethnicity were calculated among all reported.
Results
The search yielded 99 publications.
The year of publication ranged from 2002 to 2022.
Only 7 of 99 trials (7.1%) included ethnicity demographics, with 92/99 (92.9%) not reporting ethnicity at all.
There was no mention of ethnicity or limitations surrounding ethnicity inclusion in the discussion section of any of the other included publications.
Of the 7 trials reporting ethnicity, 6 studies included Palestinian patients (6/99 trials, 6.1%). The other study reported data regarding IBD among Ethiopian Jews migrating to Israel.
Data regarding the religious affiliation of Palestinian patients was available in 3 out of 6 studies (50%).
Conclusion
The reporting of ethnicity and the inclusion of Palestinian citizens of Israel in Israeli IBD trials have been poor.
Greater effort should be made at multiple levels for the appropriate participation of all ethnic groups in Israeli IBD trials.
We believe this will enhance our understanding of disease processes and response to treatment in different patient populations, and ultimately improve the quality of life of our patients.