Gender bias in antidepressant direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising

Background: Direct to consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCPA) may have significant impacts on public perception of diseases and treatments. Our objective was to examine whether DTCPA for antidepressants disproportionately portray and hence target women in the United States. Methods: DTCPA for branded medications for depression, psoriasis and diabetes were analyzed to determine the gender of the main patient portrayed, as well as the content of the disease depiction. Results: DTCPA for antidepressants included only women in 82% of ads, only men in 10.1% of ads, and both genders in 7.8% of ads. There were significantly higher representations of women versus men in DTCPA for antidepressants (82%) compared to either psoriasis (50.4%) or diabetes (37.6%) medications. These differences remained statistically significant even after adjusting for gender disparities in disease prevalence. Conclusions: Antidepressant DTCPA in the United States disproportionately target women. There are potential adverse consequences for both women and men resulting from unequal representations in DTCPA for antide-pressant medications.

Automated summary

This study investigates the gender bias in direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising for antidepressants, revealing that 82% of the ads exclusively portray women, 10.1% exclusively portray men, and 7.8% include both genders. There is a significantly higher representation of women in antidepressant advertising compared to psoriasis and diabetes medications, irrespective of disease prevalence. Unequal representation in advertising can have adverse consequences for both women and men.