Sociodemographic variables are rarely included in femoral neck fracture randomized controlled trials: A systematic review

IF 1.5 Q3 ORTHOPEDICS

Journal of orthopaedics Pub Date : 2025-03-15 DOI:10.1016/j.jor.2025.03.023

Avanish Yendluri, Jennifer Yu, Carolina Stocchi, Mark Kurapatti, Nikan K. Namiri, Junho Song, John J. Corvi, John K. Cordero, Steven Yacovelli, Brett L. Hayden, David A. Forsh

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Abstract

Introduction

Sociodemographic factors may affect outcomes after surgery for patients with femoral neck fractures. The purpose of this study was to assess the inclusion of sociodemographic variables in high-impact randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to femoral neck fracture operative management.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, and Medline were queried from January 1, 2017 to March 31, 2024 for RCTs pertaining to operative treatment of femoral neck fracture patients in high impact journals were included. The journal of publication, year of publication, and interventions assessed by the RCTs were extracted. Each RCT was assessed for inclusion of the following sociodemographic variables: age, sex/gender, body mass index (BMI)/weight, race/ethnicity, education level, insurance, smoking/tobacco use, socioeconomic status, marital status, alcohol use, English proficiency, geographic measures (i.e. proximity to hospital), employment status, and prefracture residence status. Temporal reporting trends were analyzed using Chi-square test.

Results

Of 1038 RCTs identified, 37 were included for analysis. All 37 studies reported age and sex/gender. BMI/weight was reported in 22 studies (59.5 %). Patients’ prefracture residence status was reported in 11 studies (29.7 %). Smoking/tobacco use was reported in 9 studies (24.3 %). Race/ethnicity was reported in only 5 studies (13.5 %). Socioeconomic status, English proficiency, geographic measures, marital status, education level, insurance, and employment variables were all reported in less than 10 % of the analyzed RCTs. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the proportion of studies reporting at least one sociodemographic variable (excluding age, sex/gender, and BMI/weight) in 2017–2020 (10/22) versus 2021–2024 (8/15; p = 0.743).

Conclusion

Our analysis of high-impact RCTs revealed a large gap in the reporting of sociodemographic variables. RCTs relating to femoral neck fracture management should consistently report key sociodemographic variables to ensure generalizability of study findings.

Level of evidence

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来源期刊

Journal of orthopaedics ORTHOPEDICS-

CiteScore

3.50

自引率

6.70%

发文量

202

审稿时长

56 days

期刊介绍： Journal of Orthopaedics aims to be a leading journal in orthopaedics and contribute towards the improvement of quality of orthopedic health care. The journal publishes original research work and review articles related to different aspects of orthopaedics including Arthroplasty, Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, Trauma, Spine and Spinal deformities, Pediatric orthopaedics, limb reconstruction procedures, hand surgery, and orthopaedic oncology. It also publishes articles on continuing education, health-related information, case reports and letters to the editor. It is requested to note that the journal has an international readership and all submissions should be aimed at specifying something about the setting in which the work was conducted. Authors must also provide any specific reasons for the research and also provide an elaborate description of the results.