Older people in the UK are being systematically excluded from medical research due to arbitrary age cut-offs, potentially stalling the development of life-saving treatments, leading charities and research institutes have warned. A joint statement from over 40 organisations, including the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, and the Medical Research Council, highlights that such restrictions are unethical and contribute to health inequity.
The statement argues that these age limits are rarely justified and fail to align with principles of equity and scientific excellence. It warns that excluding older adults can result in treatments that are less effective for the very people who need them most. For example, in dementia research, only one in ten people living with the disease are offered the opportunity to take part, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.
Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, has noted that older adults are frequently left out of research that directly affects their care, despite often having the highest levels of need. He said this exclusion leads to gaps in evidence, less effective treatments, and care that is not properly tailored to those who use services the most. As the population ages, it is essential that research reflects the people it aims to serve.
Some clinical studies impose age restrictions due to misconceptions that older people with multiple morbidities could skew results, or because studies are not designed to accommodate them, for example by requiring frequent visits to distant test centres. The NIHR, the UK's largest health funder, says the low proportion of older adults in research is both a scientific and ethical concern. Prof Terry Quinn, the NIHR's ageing lead, stated that treatments effective in healthy younger people should not be assumed to have the same effect in older adults, and that excluding predominant users of health and social care from research is inefficient and may produce misleading results.
Health minister Karin Smyth acknowledged that older people are more likely to face long-term conditions like cancer and dementia, yet only one in seven participants in vital medical research are over 75. She emphasised that for tomorrow's treatments to work for everyone today, older people must be part of the research that creates them. Through the government's 10-year health plan, the NIHR is launching a UK-wide recruitment drive to get more participants involved in research.
