Gender Distribution of Scholarship and Measures of National Recognition in Hospital Medicine

OBJECTIVE: Our specific aim was to assess the gender distribution of aspects of scholarly productivity and professional standing for pediatric hospital medicine over a 5-year period. We also evaluated for correlation between the makeup of editorial boards, conference planning committees, and chosen content. METHODS: We reviewed scholarly publications, presentations, editorial boards, planning committees, awardees, and society leadership in pediatric hospital medicine from 2015 to 2019 and determined gender using published methods to assess for differences between observed proportions of women authors and presenters and the proportion of women in the field. RESULTS: The field of pediatric hospital medicine at large is 69% women (95% confidence internal [CI] 68%–71%), and an estimated 57% of senior members are women (95% CI 54%–60%). We evaluated 570 original science manuscripts and found 67% (95% CI 63%–71%) women first authors and 49% (95% CI 44%–53%) women senior authors. We evaluated 1093 presentations at national conferences and found 69% (95% CI 65%–72%) women presenters of submitted content and 44% (95% CI 37%–51%) women presenters of invited content. Senior authorship and invited speaking engagements demonstrated disproportionately low representation of women when compared with senior members of the field (senior authorship, P = .002; invited presenters, P < .001). Strong positive correlation between gender composition of conference planning committees and selected content was also noted (r = 0.94). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated representative gender distribution for some aspects of scholarly productivity in pediatric hospital medicine; however, a lack of gender parity exists in senior roles.

Authorship Equity and Gender Representation in Global Oncology Publications

PURPOSE Authorship gender disparities persist across academic disciplines, including oncology. However, little is known about global variation in authorship gender distribution. METHODS This retrospective cross-sectional study describes the distribution of author gender as determined from the first name across variables such as authorship position (first, middle, and last), country region, and country income level. The 608 articles with 5,302 authors included in this analysis were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology Global Oncology, from its inception in October 2015 through March 2020. Primary outcome measure was author gender on the basis of first name probabilities assessed by genderize.io. World Bank classification was used to categorize the country region and income level. Odds ratios were used to describe associations between female last authorship and representation in other authorship positions. RESULTS Although female authors were in the minority across all authorship positions, they were more under-represented in the last author position with 190 (32.1%) female, compared with 252 (41.4%) female first authors and 1,564 (38.1%) female middle authors. Female authors were most under-represented among authors from low-income countries, where they made up 21.6% of first authors and 9.1% of last authors. Of all the regions, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia had the lowest percentage of female authors. Compared with articles with male last authors, those with female last authors had odds ratios (95% CI) of 2.2 (1.6 to 3.2) of having female first authors and 1.4 (0.9 to 2.1) of having 50% or more female middle authors. CONCLUSION There are wide regional variations in author gender distribution in global oncology. Female authors remain markedly under-represented, especially in lower-income countries, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia. Future interventions should be tailored to mitigate these disparities.

Diagnosis, rehabilitation and development of disability 2000-2019 in Iceland

INTRODUCTION: The disability assessment standard based on medically recognized illnesses or disabilities was introduced in Iceland 1999. The aim of this study is to examine the development of Social Insurance Administration (Tryggingastofnun ríkisins, TR) rulings regarding rehabilitation and disability pensions over a twenty-year period, since its introduction. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All registered diagnoses in the medical certificates of TR due to the approved rehabilitation or disability pension were examined in the period 2000-2019. The gender distribution and age distribution of these applicants and the number development during the period are described. At the same time, costs as a percentage of government expenditure are examined. RESULTS: The number of younger rehabilitation pensioners has increased rapidly in recent years, at the same time as the relative increase in disability pensioners has slowed slightly. Mental and musculoskeletal disorders are by far the most common types of illness leading to disability. Mental illnesses differ in terms of age distribution and increase over time. The proportion of individuals aged 18-66 with a 75% disability assessment has increased by a third during the period, from about 6% to 8%. The gender distribution of disability pensioners remains similar, with women accounting for 62% in total. Women are much more likely to receive disability pension due to musculoskeletal disorders than men and men are somewhat more likely to suffer from mental illness. The relative development of central government expenditure on total payments to rehabilitation and pensioners continues to grow as a proportion of central government expenditure. CONCLUSION: The number of rehabilitation pensioners has increased significantly since 2018, at the same time as the number of disability pensioners has decreased and there are indications that rehabilitation results in a lower number of new disability pensioners. Mental and musculoskeletal disorders are by far the most common types of illness leading to disability. A slightly lower proportion of disabled people have psychiatric diagnosis as a first diagnosis in the period 2000-2019 compared to those with a valid disability assessment in 2005, but the proportion of musculoskeletal disorders is slightly higher. Nevertheless, mental illnesses differ in age distribution and increase over time.

Endodontic anatomy of lower premolars in a subpopulation from the Mureş county.

Background/Aim: Thorough knowledge of the endodontic anatomy and comprehensive understanding of root canal morphological variations are mandatory to ensure the successful outcome of the endodontic treatment. The purpose of this study was to compare the number of root canals of first and second lower premolars in a selected population to the root canal pattern reported by endodontic literature and to analyze the gender distribution. Material and methods: A total of 376 preoperative periapical radiographs were obtained from patients living in the Mureş County of Romania. The X-rays were analyzed by 3 endodontists into determining whether the mandibular premolars had one, two or three root canals. The difference between male and female gender distribution was also examined. Endodontic treatment was then performed using the operating microscope to confirm the root canal configuration of the radiographic analysis. The results were compared to common knowledge of the endodontic literature. Results: In this study, by using the radiographic method combined with direct observation aided by the operating microscope, 31.3% of first premolars and 14.6% of second premolars were found to have two root canals. A higher percentage of two root canals were found in females for both first (60.97%) and second premolars (76.9%). Conclusion: In the Mureş County region, mandibular premolars with two root canals have a significantly higher rate than the literature reports. Female patients have a higher prevalence than male patients. This should concern clinicians from this area to be aware of these facts as it can unquestionably influence the tooth’s long-term prognosis.