Sex-Associated Disparities in Industry Payments to US Authors in High-Impact Rheumatology Journals: Correlation with Author Impact.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess sex-associated disparities in the frequency and magnitude of industry payments to US physician authors in high-impact rheumatology journals and their correlation with author impact.

Methods: US authors of publications in four high-impact rheumatology journals were vetted on Open Payments Database (OPD) for industry payments. The h-index (an accepted metric of author impact), physician type, and dollar amounts for each OPD category were recorded. Differences in the percentages of male versus female US authors with or without OPD entries, differences in research-associated and non-research-associated payments, and differences in h-indexes were determined. Two hematology, two surgery, and two obstetrics/gynecology high-impact journals were similarly vetted.

Results: The h-indexes of, and industry payments to, US male physician authors were greater than those of and to US female physician authors across all four vetted journal disciplines, with the male-to-female ratio of median dollar payments being greatest for rheumatology. Whereas payments to male US physician authors tended to be larger than those to female US physician authors at low h-indexes, payments to female US physician authors, especially for rheumatology, tended to match and surpass those to male US physician authors as the h-indexes rose.

Conclusion: Significant differences exist in industry payments and h-indexes between male and female US physician authors of publications in high-impact journals, especially high-impact rheumatology journals. Sex-associated differences in industry payments can be attributed, at least in part, to sex-associated differences in author impact.