Characteristics and trends of published adult hip research over the last decade

Abstract

Purpose: We designed this study to demonstrate recent trends in the proportion of adult hip research in orthopedics, to identify countries leading the adult hip research, and to evaluate the relationship between the economic power of the countries and their contributions. Materials and Methods: Studies published in seven select orthopedic journals were retrieved from PubMed. Among them, we determined the number of adult hip studies. The countries-of-origin of adult hip studies, and the economic power of the countries were investigated. Results: A total of 7218 orthopedic publications and 1993 (27.6%) addressed adult hip research were identified. Adult hip studies increased from 313 (23.7%) in 2000 to 555 (27.9%) in 2011. Twenty-five countries accounted for 97.6% of the total number of adult hip studies, and gross domestic product correlated with publication volume (Spearman's rho, 0.723; p=0.000). Conclusion: Researchers from a limited number of developed countries have published their studies in the adult hip discipline.