P1499 - Gender and Regional Trends in Authorship of Clinical Trials Published in Leading Gastroenterology and Hepatology Journals From 2009 to 2024

Muhammad Romail Manan, MBBS, BSc¹, Iqra Nawaz, MBBS, BSc², Muhammad Talha Habib, ³, Muhammad Imtanan Fazal, MD⁴, Arisha Qazi, MBBS⁵, Mariam Mazhar, ⁴, Abu Huraira Bin Gulzar, ⁴, Abdul Hannan, ³, Adina Shahzad, ³, Fatima Zafar, MBBS¹, Atika Malik, MD^6
1Services Hospital, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan; ²Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan; ³Quaid-e-Azam Medical College, Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan; ⁴Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan; ⁵Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan; ⁶AdventHealth, Orlando, FL

Introduction: The rising presence of women in gastroenterology and hepatology (GH) is not mirrored in the numerical representation of female authors in publications from leading GH journals. As authorship is closely tied to career progression, underscoring the importance of gender equity in the authorship of scientific research becomes important. Additionally, female authors serve as role models for future generations of aspiring researchers, encouraging greater participation among women. Calls for inclusivity gain further traction, as gender and regional diversity are crucial for driving innovation, and advancing healthcare.

Methods: We conducted a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the gender, regional, and socioeconomic distribution among first and last (senior) authors of clinical trials, published from 2009 to 2024, in the top 20 GH journals with the highest impact factor. Relevant information was extracted, and data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics were used to provide an overview of the data. Jonckheere-Terpstra test and chi-square test were applied to examine trends over time and associations across categorical variables, respectively.

Results: Women researchers comprised 22.9% of the 3602 first authors included. Among the total number of first authors, 69.7% belonged to the region of North America (NA), and Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and 87.8% belonged to high-income countries (HICs). Women from low-income countries were least represented as first authors (1.4%). Among the first authors belonging to HICs, 75.9% authors were men. Among the total number of last authors, 15.2% were women. Regional distribution revealed that 70.6% of the total last authors belonged to the region of NA, and ECA, and 87.7% belonged to institutions based in HICs. Among the last authors from HICs, 84.7% were men. Articles published in 2009 had 21.2% women as first authors while those published in 2024 had 34.7%(p< 0.001). Articles with women last author exhibited a higher proportion of women as first authors compared to articles with a man as last author - 30.5% versus 22.5% respectively (p< 0.001).<br></span>

Discussion: While there has been a perceived decrease in gender disparities within medicine, objective measures reveal that such disparities persist despite apparent progress. Medical research conducted by a homogenous group may perpetuate biases, warranting fundamental changes to be instituted from organizational to individual level in order to circumvent challenges faced by women researchers.



Disclosures:


Muhammad Romail Manan, MBBS, BSc¹, Iqra Nawaz, MBBS, BSc², Muhammad Talha Habib, ³, Muhammad Imtanan Fazal, MD⁴, Arisha Qazi, MBBS⁵, Mariam Mazhar, ⁴, Abu Huraira Bin Gulzar, ⁴, Abdul Hannan, ³, Adina Shahzad, ³, Fatima Zafar, MBBS¹, Atika Malik, MD⁶. P1499 - Gender and Regional Trends in Authorship of Clinical Trials Published in Leading Gastroenterology and Hepatology Journals From 2009 to 2024, ACG 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Philadelphia, PA: American College of Gastroenterology.