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EllaDx
Science

Most of modern medicine was never studied on women.

Until 1993, women were legally excluded from most U.S. clinical trials. The reference ranges your doctor uses today, for thyroid, for iron, for hormones, were largely built from data on men.

We don't invent our own ranges. We use the same CLIA-accredited lab ranges your doctor does, and pair every result with plain-English context from peer-reviewed women's health research.

01 · The gap

The numbers that made us start this company.

01 / 04
23%
Of cardiovascular trial participants are women
Despite heart disease being the leading cause of death for American women.
SourceJAMA Cardiology, 2022
02 / 04
9yrs
Average delay to an endometriosis diagnosis
One in ten women will have it. Few will be diagnosed in time.
SourceAmerican Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2023
03 / 04
70%
Of chronic pain patients are women
Yet 80% of pain research has been conducted on male subjects.
SourceNature Reviews Neuroscience, 2021
04 / 04
1 IN 3
Women over 40 have a thyroid condition
Most will go undiagnosed because standard TSH ranges miss them.
SourceJournal of Clinical Endocrinology, 2024
02 · Reference ranges

“In range” for whom, exactly?

A lab range shows where 95 out of 100 people's results fall. But the people in that group matter. We show the reporting lab's standard reference range, then add plain-English notes about women's health and your cycle phase. A result being “in range” is only part of the picture.

TSHmIU/L

The standard range comes from a mixed group of people. The cited guideline uses a TSH target below 2.5 for women treated for hypothyroidism who plan to become pregnant.1,2

  1. 1.
    Alexander EK, Pearce EN, Brent GA, et al. (2017). Thyroid, 27(3): 315–3892017 ATA Guidelines: preconception TSH target <2.5 mIU/L
  2. 2.
    Korevaar TIM, Medici M, Visser TJ, Peeters RP. (2017). Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 13(10): 610–622
Standard lab range
Reported on every result
0.4–4.5
◆ 2.5Published guideline value
0.44.5
Ferritinng/mL

Many labs use 10 ng/mL as a lower limit. Studies have found fatigue, hair loss and restless legs in some women below 50 ng/mL.1,2

  1. 1.
    Vaucher P, Druais PL, Waldvogel S, Favrat B. (2012). CMAJ, 184(11): 1247–1254Iron supplementation reduced fatigue in non-anemic women with ferritin <50
  2. 2.
    Rushton DH. (2002). Clinical & Experimental Dermatology, 27(5): 396–404
Standard lab range
Reported on every result
10–200
◆ 50Published guideline value
10200
Vitamin Dnmol/L

After menopause, higher vitamin D levels may support bone health. Some studies place this level above the older minimum.1,2

  1. 1.
    Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, et al. (2011). J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 96(7): 1911–1930Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline
  2. 2.
    Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Willett WC, Orav EJ, et al. (2012). New England Journal of Medicine, 367(1): 40–49
Standard lab range
Reported on every result
30–125
◆ 60Published guideline value
30125
Estradiol (luteal)pg/mL

One general ‘female’ range can hide changes across the menstrual cycle. The cited study found different ranges for each cycle phase. EllaDx records your cycle phase beside each result.1

  1. 1.
    Stricker R, Eberhart R, Chevailler MC, et al. (2006). Clin Chem Lab Med, 44(7): 883–887Reference intervals for estradiol, LH, FSH and progesterone across the menstrual cycle
Standard lab range
Reported on every result
30–400
◆ 100Published guideline value
30400
03 · Validation

How a lab marker earns its place in a panel.

Six steps, from a health question to a review every six months. Every lab marker in every panel goes through all six.

01

Start with a health question

Symptom → question

Each panel starts with symptoms women report. We choose tests that may help answer questions about those symptoms, not just tests that are easy to sell.

02

Review the research

Evidence grades A–D

Our medical team reviews published studies. We choose tests backed by research on women. We also point out when the evidence is limited.

03

Choose and check each test

Under 8% variation on sensitive tests

Quest Diagnostics runs every test in labs that meet CLIA and CAP quality standards. For low hormone levels, such as estradiol and testosterone, Quest uses highly sensitive LC/MS testing.

04

Review women's health research

Peer-reviewed, cited

Our medical team reviews published women's health studies for every lab marker. Your result includes those research notes beside the standard lab range, not in place of it.

05

Physician panel sign-off

3-physician consensus

Before a panel goes live, three board-certified physicians approve its design. They review the lab markers, cycle timing, and lab ranges used to flag results.

06

Review new research

Refreshed every 6 mo

Every six months, our medical team reviews the research again. We remove lab markers when the support gets weaker. We also update the notes beside your results when new studies are published.

04 · The evidence

Every claim, sourced.

Papers that shaped how we think about women's diagnostics , and the ones we keep returning to when building new panels.

Vogel B, Acevedo M, Appelman Y, et al. (2021)

The Lancet women and cardiovascular disease Commission: reducing the global burden by 2030

The Lancet, 397(10292): 2385–2438
Cardiovascular
Westergaard D, Moseley P, Sørup FKH, et al. (2019)

Population-wide analysis of differences in disease progression patterns in men and women

Nature Communications, 10: 666
Diagnostic delay
Mogil JS. (2020)

Qualitative sex differences in pain processing: emerging evidence of a biased literature

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 21: 353–365
Pain research
Razvi S, Bhana S, Mrabeti S. (2019)

Challenges in interpreting thyroid stimulating hormone results in the diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction

Journal of Thyroid Research, 4106816
Reference ranges
Zondervan KT, Becker CM, Missmer SA. (2020)

Endometriosis

New England Journal of Medicine, 382: 1244–1256
Diagnostic delay
Mirin AA. (2021)

Gender disparity in the funding of diseases by the U.S. National Institutes of Health

Journal of Women’s Health, 30(7): 956–963
Research funding
Soldin OP, Mattison DR. (2009)

Sex differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics

Clinical Pharmacokinetics, 48(3): 143–157
Sex differences
Merz AA, Cheng S. (2016)

Sex differences in cardiovascular ageing

Heart, 102(11): 825–831
Cardiovascular
Daitch V, Turjeman A, Poran I, et al. (2022)

Underrepresentation of women in randomized controlled trials: a systematic review

Trials, 23: 1038
Clinical trials

Full bibliography of 240+ papers available on request · Last updated Q1 2026

Be counted

The dataset gets better every time you test.

Every woman who tests with us makes the case for more female-focused research: louder demand, better evidence, better panels. This is how the gap closes.

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