Sex-Specific Analysis Is Lacking in Abstracts Presented at Arthroscopy Association of North America and American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meetings From 2016 to 2019

PURPOSE: To evaluate the presence of sex-specific analysis (SSA) in abstracts accepted for podium presentation at the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) and American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) annual meetings from 2016 to 2019. METHODS: Abstracts accepted for podium presentation at the AANA and AOSSM annual meetings from 2016 to 2019 were selected for review. Studies that included sex as a variable in a multifactorial statistical model were considered to have performed adequate SSA. Secondary data collected included whether the abstract had a female lead or senior author, the degrees of the female authors, and the anatomic focuses of studies with SSA. RESULTS: Of the 891 total abstracts accepted for podium presentation at the AANA and AOSSM annual meetings from 2016 to 2019, 90 (10%) included SSA. There were 284 AANA abstracts, 24 (8%) of which reported SSA. Of the 607 AOSSM abstracts, 66 (11%) reported SSA. There were 43 female first authors (15%) and 33 female senior authors (12%) of the AANA abstracts compared with 92 female first authors (15%) and 39 female senior authors (6%) of the AOSSM abstracts. Of the 891 total abstracts, 135 (15%) listed a female lead author and 72 (8%) had a female senior author. Of the 135 female first authors, 92 (68%) had an M.D., whereas 40 of the 72 female senior authors (56%) had an M.D. Analysis of all abstracts combined showed a positive correlation between SSA and a female first author (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.035, P = .147), as well as between SSA and a female senior author (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.052, P = .059). CONCLUSIONS: From 2016 to 2019, only 10% of abstracts accepted for podium presentation at the AANA and AOSSM annual meetings included SSA. Altogether, women represented 15% of first authors and 8% of senior authors. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study highlights the low percentage of SSA in abstracts presented at the AANA and AOSSM annual meetings from 2016 to 2019. Future studies should attempt to perform SSA when relevant to better evaluate differences in outcomes between male and female patients.