Three decades of transformation: a bibliometric study of gender and geographic trends in international orthopaedic journal publications.

AIMS: Academic journals are essential for advancing knowledge, yet gender disparities in orthopaedic authorship persist. While most previous studies focus authorship trends on mainly North American journals, this study analyzes gender distribution among primary and senior authors, along with the geographical origins of articles, in three orthopaedic journals based in Europe and North America.

METHODS

A retrospective, cross-sectional analysis was conducted on articles published from 2000 to 2004, 2010 to 2014, and 2020 to 2024 in the following journals: Acta Orthopaedica (AO), The Bone & Joint Journal (BJJ), and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research (CORR). The gender of primary and senior authors, as well as the geographical and developmental status of their countries, were collected. The Namsor application, along with additional sources, was used to assign author gender. Country development status was determined by the Human Development Index.

RESULTS

The study analyzed 7,381 articles. Female authorship significantly increased over time in all journals analyzed. Female primary authorship rose from 238 (8.9%) in the first period to 495 (24.7%) in the third, and senior female authorship increased from 133 (5.1%) to 287 (14.3%). In AO, female primary authorship saw a 3.4-fold rise, while senior authorship increased 4.9-fold. For BJJ, female primary authorship rose 2.3-fold, while senior authorship increased 1.7-fold. In CORR, primary authorship grew 2.7-fold and senior authorship 3.6-fold. Geographically, Europe was the most prominent contributor to AO and BJJ, while North America led in CORR. Articles from developing countries showed small increases, with China and India being key contributors, especially in BJJ and CORR.

CONCLUSION

The study highlights a notable rise in female authorship in three orthopaedic journals, based in Europe and North America. The increase in female authors is more closely associated with specific countries rather than entire continents. Despite low representation, articles from developing countries increased in CORR and BJJ. While progress in gender diversity is promising, regional disparities continue to exist.