scholarly journals Comparison of the contributions of female and male authors to medical research in 2000 and 2015: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. e024436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angele Gayet-Ageron ◽  
Antoine Poncet ◽  
Thomas Perneger

ObjectivesThe proportion of women engaged in clinical research has increased over time. However, it is unclear if women and men contribute to the same extent during the conduct of research and, if so, if they are equally rewarded by a strategic first or last author position. We aim to describe the prevalence of women authors of original articles published 15 years apart and to compare the research contributions and author positions according to gender.DesignRepeated cross-sectional study.SettingPublished original articles.Participants1910 authors of 223 original articles published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2000 and 2015.Primary and secondary outcomes measuresSelf-reported contributions to 10 aspects of the article (primary) and author position on the byline.ResultsThe proportion of women authors increased from 32% (n=243) to 41% (n=469) between 2000 and 2015 (p<0.0001). In 2000, women authors were less frequently involved than men in the conception and design (134 (55%) vs 323 (61%); p=0.0256), critical revision (171 (70%) vs 426 (81%); p=0.0009), final approval (196 (81%) vs 453 (86%); p=0.0381) and obtaining of funding (39 (16%) vs 114 (22%); p=0.0245). Women were more frequently involved than men in administration and logistics (85 (35%) vs 137 (26%); p=0.0188) and data collection (121 (50%) vs 242 (46%); p=0.0532), but they were similarly involved in the analysis and interpretation of data, drafting of the manuscript, provision of materials/patients and statistical expertise. Women were less often last authors than men (22 (9%) vs 82 (16%); p=0.0102). These gender differences persisted in 2015.ConclusionsThe representation of women among authors of medical articles increased notably between 2000 and 2015, but still remained below 50%. Women’s roles differed from those of men with no change over time.

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minoru Takakura ◽  
Masaya Miyagi ◽  
Akira Kyan

Abstract Background Smoking among Japanese adolescents has decreased noticeably. However, little is known whether the decreasing trend in adolescent smoking can be seen across all socioeconomic status (SES) groups. This study aimed to examine trends in socioeconomic inequalities in smoking among Japanese adolescents between 2008 and 2016. Methods We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study using data from three surveys of high school students in Okinawa, Japan, in 2008, 2012, and 2016. The study participants consisted of 7902 students in grades 10 through 12 (15–18 years). Smoking was assessed as current cigarette use. SES indicators included familial SES (parental education and family structure) and student’s own SES (school type). To evaluate absolute and relative inequalities, prevalence differences (PDs) and ratios (PRs) between low and high SES groups were estimated. The slope index of inequality (SII) and relative index of inequality (RII) were also calculated. Results Smoking prevalence among boys and girls significantly declined from 11.5% and 6.2% in 2008 to 4.7% and 1.9% in 2016, respectively. Similar decreasing trends in smoking were found among most of the SES groups. The PDs and SII for parental education in boys and family structure in girls decreased over time while those for school type persisted among boys and girls. The PRs and RII for school type in boys increased while those for other SES indicators among both sexes remained stable over time. Conclusions Smoking among Japanese adolescents has been declining and time trends of socioeconomic inequalities in smoking varied by absolute and relative measures. Further policies and/or interventions to reduce smoking inequalities should focus on the context of schools, especially in vocational high schools.


2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
Hartono Gunardi ◽  
Adra Firmansyah ◽  
Sri Rezeki S Harun ◽  
Sudigdo Sastroasmoro

Backgi-ound Hepatitis B (HB) has been classified as moderate-tohighlyendemic in Indonesia. HB vaccination, the most effectivemethod to prevent HB viral transmission, induces protectiveantibodies against HB surface antigen (anti-HBs). However, theseantibodies decline in titer over time. Studies on the duration ofprotection and the prevalence of n on-responders in Indonesianadolescents have been limited.Objectives To determine anti-HBs titers in 15-17-year oldIndonesian adolescents given primary HB vaccine during infancyand the prevalence of non-responders after a HB vaccine boosterdosage.Methods This cross-sectional study was performed from Februaryto September 2008 on adolescents aged 15-17 years in threesenior high schools in Jakarta who received complete primary HBvaccines during infancy, based on parents' recall. Investigationsincluded HB vaccination history, anthropometric measurements,and blood tests for anti-HBs before and 4-6 weeks after a boosterdose ofHB vaccine.Results Of 94 subjects, 35 had protective anti-HBs and 59 hadundetectable anti-HBs. A booster dose was administered to 5 8 of then on-protected subjects, of which 33 showed anamnestic responses.However, 25 subjects failed to generate protective anti-HBs. Takinginto consideration the adolescents with protective anti-HBs beforeand after the booster dose, serologic protection was demonstratedin 73%. Non-responder prevalence was 27%. The high prevalenceof non-responders may indicate bias of parents' recall.Conclusion Protective anti-HBs is detected in less than half ofIndonesian adolescents given primary HB vaccine during infancy.Following booster dosage, anamnestic responses are n oted in onethirdof subjects. The prevalence of non-responders is 27%, butconfirmation with further study is needed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. e12827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fereshteh Salarvand ◽  
Zahra Fatehi ◽  
Maryam Shahali ◽  
Kamran Balighi ◽  
Maryam Ghiasi ◽  
...  

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e031021
Author(s):  
Yiwen Huang ◽  
Lijuan Wang ◽  
Junsheng Huo ◽  
Qiong Wu ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo investigate the current situation of anaemia among children aged 6–23 months in a rural county in China, and to explore the influencing factors and the main causes of anaemia.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingHuzhu County in Qinghai Province, ChinaParticipantsWe selected 38 sampled villages using Proportional to Population Size sampling method. We obtained the name list of children aged 6–23 months in each sampled village and planned to survey all the eligible children aged 6–23 months and their caregivers.Primary and secondary outcomes measuresThe prevalence of anaemia, the influencing factors of anaemia, the laboratory tests for biological causes of anaemia, including serum ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor, folic acid, homocysteine and vitamin B12.ResultsA total of 754 children aged 6–23 months and their caregivers were surveyed, and 183 anaemic children aged 12–23 months were collected venous blood sample. The anaemia prevalence of children aged 6–23 months in Huzhu County was 59.1%. Children of younger age (OR=0.968, 95% CI 0.940 to 0.998), Tibetan nationality (OR=3.123, 95% CI 1.473 to 6.623) and not introducing meat (OR=0.698, 95% CI 0.499 to 0.976) were more likely to be anaemic. More than 80% of children with anaemia were due to iron deficiency (ID), and 20.2% of them had both iron and folic acid deficiencies.ConclusionsThe anaemia prevalence of children aged 6–23 months in Huzhu County was high and children of younger age, Tibetan nationality and not introducing meat were more likely to be anaemic. The main cause of anaemia was nutritional anaemia, with the vast majority being ID. Interventions of feeding counselling and nutrients supplements are appropriate and should be further strengthened.Trial registration numberChiCTRPRC12002444.


Author(s):  
Rebecca A. Gourevitch ◽  
Sunita Desai ◽  
Andrew L. Hicks ◽  
Laura A. Hatfield ◽  
Michael E. Chernew ◽  
...  

Despite the recent proliferation of price transparency tools, consumer use and awareness of these tools is low. Better strategies to increase the use of price transparency tools are needed. To inform such efforts, we studied who is most likely to use a price transparency tool. We conducted a cross-sectional study of use of the Truven Treatment Cost Calculator among employees at 2 large companies for the 12 months following the introduction of the tool in 2011-2012. We examined frequency of sign-ons and used multivariate logistic regression to identify which demographic and health care factors were associated with greater use of the tool. Among the 70 408 families offered the tool, 7885 (11%) used it at least once and 854 (1%) used it at least 3 times in the study period. Greater use of the tool was associated with younger age, living in a higher income community, and having a higher deductible. Families with moderate annual out-of-pocket medical spending ($1000-$2779) were also more likely to use the tool. Consistent with prior work, we find use of this price transparency tool is low and not sustained over time. Employers and payers need to pursue strategies to increase interest in and engagement with health care price information, particularly among consumers with higher medical spending.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Elizabeth Figueiredo ◽  
Cate Goodlad ◽  
Michelle Clemenger ◽  
San San Haddoub ◽  
Jacqueline McGrory ◽  
...  

Introduction. Little is known about physical symptoms in peritoneal dialysis (PD) Patients. This study aims to determine the prevalence of symptoms (general and abdominal) in PD patients.Methods. A cross-sectional study, with subsequent followup, using an author-designed 21 symptoms questionnaire (15 nonabdominal and 6 abdominal). Each symptom was assessed on a scale 0–3 for severity (none–severe) and frequency (never–every day).Results. We studied 41 patients, mean age years, 56% male, 19.5% diabetics, and 51.5% on APD. Mean number of symptoms was and total symptoms score was with abdominal scores of . Most frequent symptoms were lack of energy, itching, cramps, poor sleep, and loss of appetite. A second evaluation in 20 patients disclosed no statistical difference between the first and second assessments, or between subgroups. Cramps were the only symptoms which decreased over time (). Lack of energy did not correlate with haemoglobin, neither did itching with phosphate level.Conclusions. Physical symptoms are frequent and troublesome; they relate to advanced kidney disease and not specifically to PD. Symptoms remain stable over time and do not appear to relate to dialysis parameter markers.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Pereira Teodoro ◽  
Danielle Scherrer ◽  
Maria José de Camargo ◽  
Ana Costa ◽  
Cecília Vianna de Andrade ◽  
...  

Abstract Background According to the Brazilian Guidelines on Cervical Cancer Screening, women with cytopathologic diagnosis of high-grade intraepithelial lesion, abnormal colposcopic findings, fully visible squamocolumnar junction, and age 25 years or older should be treated at the first visit (“see and treat – S&T”). The main limitation to this approach is the risk of overtreatment, identified by histology without preinvasive lesion. This study aimed to measure the negative histology rate in women submitted to S&T according to the Brazilian Guidelines. Methods This was a cross-sectional study that analyzed records from a database with 616 women submitted to S&T from 1996 to 2017. Negative histology was defined as the following histopathologic results: HPV without CIN, inflammatory, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), and CIN 1. Results Of the 616 women, there were 52 (8.44% − 95%CI 6.25–10.64%) with a histopathologic report without preinvasive cervical lesion. No statistical association was found between this outcome and younger ages or a significant downward trend over time. Conclusion The overtreatment rate in this study can be considered low and consistent with the acceptable rates reported in the literature, reinforcing the prevailing Brazilian guideline, in which the benefits of immediate treatment outweigh the risk of losses following biopsy.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e049187
Author(s):  
Mahesh Ramanan ◽  
Aashish Kumar ◽  
Chris Anstey ◽  
Kiran Shekar

ObjectiveTo determine the proportion of patients surviving their cardiac surgery who experienced non-home discharge (NHD) over a 16-year period in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).DesignRetrospective, multicentre, cross-sectional study over the time period 01 January 2004 to 31 December 2019.SettingAdult patients who underwent cardiac surgery from the Australia New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database (APD).ParticipantsAdult patients (age 18 and above) who underwent index coronary artery bypass grafting, cardiac valve surgery or combined valve/coronary surgery.ExposureThe primary exposure variable was the calendar year during the which the index surgery was performed.OutcomeThe primary outcome was NHD after the index surgery. NHD included discharge to locations such as nursing home, chronic care facility, rehabilitation and palliative care.ResultsWe analysed 252 924 index cardiac surgical admissions from 101 discrete sites with a median age of 68 years (IQR 60–76), of which 74.2% (187 662 out of 252 920) were males. Of these, 4302 (1.7%) patients died in hospital and 213 011 (84.2%) were discharged home, 18 010 (7.1%) were transferred to another hospital and 17 601 (7%) experienced NHD. In Australia, 14 457 (6.4%) of patients progressed to NHD, compared with 3144 (11.7%) in New Zealand. The rate of NHD increased significantly over time (adjusted OR per year=1.06, 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.07, p<0.001). Increasing age, female sex, non-elective surgery, surgery type and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III Score were all associated with significant increase in NHD.ConclusionsThere was significant increase in NHD after cardiac surgery over time in ANZ. This has significant clinical relevance for informed consent discussions between healthcare providers and patients, and for healthcare services planning.


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