Does Journal Content in the Field of Women's Health Represent Women's Burden of Disease? A Review of Publications in 2010 and 2020

Abstract

Background: Historically, women's health has focused on reproductive health. However, noncommunicable and communicable diseases comprise much of the burden of disease in women. Methods: A quantitative analysis of the main health content of articles published in six women's health journals (WHJ) and five general medical journals (GMJ) in 2010 and 2020 was conducted to categorize the main medical area topics of published articles and the life stage under study. Findings were compared with the leading causes of disease in women according to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. Results: There were 1483 articles eligible for analysis. In total, in WHJ, 44% of topics were reproductive health, increasing from 36% in 2010 to 49% in 2020, which was similar to GMJ. Noncommunicable disease was the next most addressed topic, with cancer being the major disease area covered. When compared with the GBD study, major disease areas such as infectious disease, cardiovascular disease, and musculoskeletal disorders were underrepresented as topics in women's health publications. Most articles that focused on a particular life stage were on pregnancy or the reproductive years, with very few articles on menopause. Conclusion: Women's health publishing remains largely focused on reproductive health topics, with few articles on many of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in women. Journals, researchers, funders, and research priority setters should embrace a broader view of women's health to effectively cover content that reflects the broad range of health issues impacting women across the life span.

Keywords: global burden of disease; noncommunicable disease; reproductive health; women's health.

FIG. 1.

Flow diagram demonstrating the selection of journals and eligible articles from both WHJ and GMJ. GMJ, general medical journals; WHJ, women's health journals.

FIG. 2.

Percentage of topics in each high-level topic area in 2010 and 2020 across all six WHJ and all five GMJ.

FIG. 3.

(A) Percentage of individual topics comprising the reproductive health topic area in WHJ. (B) Percentage of individual topics comprising the reproductive health topic area in GMJ. (C) Percentage of individual topics comprising the NCD topic area in WHJ. (D) Percentage of individual topics comprising the NCD topic area in GMJ. 2010 and 2020 data combined. Topics are presented left to right in the same order as the graph legends. NCD, noncommunicable disease.

FIG. 4.

Percentage of articles specific to each life stage in 2010 and 2020 in all six WHJ and all five GMJ, excluding three articles on childhood.

FIG. 5.

Comparison of the proportion of DALYs attributable to each disease category based on the mean of GBD data from 2009 to 2019, with the proportion of topics in each disease category in all six WHJ and all five GMJ across both 2010 and 2020. DALYs, disability adjusted life years; GBD, Global Burden of Disease.