Gender bias in antidepressant direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising

Area of Science:

• Medical Marketing
• Health Communication
• Gender Studies

Background:

• Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCPA) influences public understanding of diseases and treatments.
• Previous research suggests potential gender-based disparities in health information exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if DTCPA for antidepressants in the U.S. predominantly portrays women.
• To compare gender representation in antidepressant DTCPA with that for other conditions.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of DTCPA for branded depression, psoriasis, and diabetes medications.
• Determination of the primary gender depicted in each advertisement.
• Assessment of disease portrayal content within the advertisements.

Main Results:

• Antidepressant DTCPA featured women as the primary patient in 82% of ads, compared to 10.1% for men and 7.8% for both.
• Women were significantly more represented in antidepressant ads (82%) than in psoriasis (50.4%) or diabetes (37.6%) ads.
• These disparities persisted after accounting for differences in disease prevalence between genders.

Conclusions:

• DTCPA for antidepressants in the U.S. disproportionately targets women.
• Unequal gender representation in antidepressant advertising may have adverse consequences for both women and men.
• Further research is needed to understand the full impact of gendered DTCPA on health perceptions and behaviors.