Detailed inclusive language guidelines

Summary characteristics (e.g., mean age, percent of patients in most common sex, race, ethnicity, or other relevant sociodemographic groups) should be reported in in the “Results” section of your manuscript.  Baseline characteristics that are relevant to the study question should also be reported in the Abstract.  The method used to collect sociodemographic information should be described in the “Methods” section. If any demographic characteristics cannot be reported, you must state the reason for the reader.

Age

• Specific age ranges with means and medians should be given in addition to descriptions of age categories like “younger than 18 years” or “older than 65 years”
• Avoid descriptions of age that suggest ability or a deficit, such as describing someone as a teenager, elderly, aged, senior, senior citizen, dependent, etc.
• Use people-first descriptions. For example, avoid the terms “social security recipient” and “social security beneficiary” or “Medicare recipient” and “Medicare beneficiary.” Instead name the program (e.g., public health insurance, supplemental nutrition, financial assistance) and give the reason why individuals are enrolled. For example, “people ≥65 years of age who are age-eligible for Medicare, the federal health insurance program in the US.”
• The term geriatric should be used to refer to the field of study only. Do not use it to refer to a group of patients in a study.

Sex and gender

• “Sex” refers to the biological characteristics and should be used when reporting biological factors. “Gender” serves as a cultural indicator of a person’s personal and social identity and should be used when reporting gender identity or psychosocial/cultural factors. 
• Explain the methods used to obtain information on sex, gender, or both (eg, self-reported, investigator observed or classified, or laboratory test) in the "Methods" section.
• In research Articles and Brief Communications, sex or gender should be reported and defined, and how sex or gender was assessed should be described. Whenever possible, report all main outcomes by sex (or gender if appropriate).
• In non-research reports, use sex-neutral terms.
• When reporting the sex or gender of participants in a table, include all sexes/genders, as defined in the study, regardless of ratio.

Race and ethnicity

• “Race” must be defined as a social construct with no biological meaning. If including race in statistical models, specify the reason for its use in the study.  As such, “racialized” is preferred to “racial.”
• Genetic interpretations of race are not accepted. Explain social, environmental and structural factors (e.g., differential exposure, covariate distributions, exposure to different types of racism) for which racial categorizations may serve as a proxy.
• The "Methods" section should include an explanation of who identified participant race and ethnicity and the source of the classifications used (eg, self-report or selection, investigator observed, database, electronic health record, survey instrument).
• If collection of data on race and ethnicity was required by the funding agency, that should be noted.
• Report specific racialized and ethnic categories used in the study. If an option labeled as “other” was used during data collection, this category should be defined as such. Do not name any group (or combination of groups) as “other” if specific terminology was collected.
• List racialized and ethnic groups in alphabetical order in text and tables, with “missing” or “unknown” as the last category.
• Consult with representatives from the racialized and ethnic groups included in the study to carefully determine the appropriate terms that should be  used to describe each group. Once, selected, the terms should be used consistently within your manuscript (i.e., do not use other terms interchangeably). For example, in the US, consult with representatives to determine if the term “African American” or “Black” should be used. Throughout the Americas, consult with representatives to determine if the term “Indigenous people of the Americas”, “American Indians”, “Native Americans”, or “Amerindians” should be used. Once the appropriate term is selected,  do not use the other terms anywhere in the manuscript.
• Avoid using racially-charged terms which were created to describe unfounded theories of racialized hierarchy, such as the word “Caucasian”, which was invented to support a white supremacy narrative that has no scientific basis.
• Avoid abbreviations of categories for race and ethnicity unless necessary because of space constraints in tables and figures. If used, any abbreviations should be clearly explained parenthetically in text or in table and figure footnotes or legends.
• When reporting the race and ethnicity of participants in a table, include all categories, as defined in the study. Be as specific as possible, even if these comprise a small percentage of participants.
• Avoid using the general term “minorities” as a stand-alone term as it is overly vague and implies hierarchy among groups (i.e., “less than”).  Instead, use terms that incorporate the identities of the groups being described (e.g., language spoken, religious or spiritual belief, cultural practices).  If possible, use terms more relevant to the reason for analyzing subgroups (e.g., historically excluded from employment opportunities, targeted for genocide, facing additional barriers in access to healthcare).

Socioeconomic status 

• Avoid labeling people with their socioeconomic status, (eg, using terminology such as “the poor” or “the unemployed”). Instead, use terms such as “low income,” “available for work,” and “not in the labor force.”
• Do not use terms such as “first world/third world” and “developed/developing” when comparing countries or regions.
• “Impoverished” and “enriched” are terms that can be  used to describe a nation, region, or group which either benefits from or is burdened by historical and current geopolitical imbalances in resource distribution (e.g., colonialism, imperialism, racism).
• When possible, include historical and current national and/or international determinants of inequalities in socioeconomic status.

Medical conditions

• Avoid labeling (and thus equating) people with their medical condition (eg, “diabetics” and “epileptics”). Instead, use terms such as “study participants diagnosed with diabetes” or “persons diagnosed with epilepsy.”