Objective: This study aimed to clarify the contribution of female authors to the cardiothoracic literature by analyzing five high-impact journals.
Materials and
Methods: Two authors reviewed all articles from 2000, 2010, and 2020 published in five high-impact journals in the cardiothoracic discipline. Only original articles, reviews, and meta-analyses were enrolled in the study. During the review, the first author’s name, the senior author’s name, and the number of female and male authors were recorded according to years. Articles were also categorized according to subspecificity and region of study.

Results: A total of 233 papers in 2000, 259 papers in 2010, and 276 papers in 2020 met the study inclusion criteria. The ratio of female authors as first author was 4.3% in 2000, 8.9% in 2010, and 9.8% in 2020, and the difference was statistically higher in favor of 2010 and 2020 (p=0.041). The ratio of female authors increased from 24.9% in 2000 to 35.9% in 2020 (p=0.019). However, the ratio of senior female authors was not statistically significant (p=0.090). The ratio of female first authors for original articles and the ratio of female senior authors for reviews were significantly higher in 2010 and 2020. First female authors in papers about the heart and senior female authors in papers about the thorax were significantly more common in 2010 and 2020. Finally, the ratio of female first authors and senior authors significantly increased from 2000 to 2010 and 2020 only in Europe.

Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that the proportion of female authors significantly increased over the last 20 years in cardiothoracic surgery. First female authors made progress in articles written about experimental studies, original articles, and meta-analyses, and the heart. Finally, the frequency of female senior authors was significantly increased for experimental studies, review articles, papers about the thorax, and papers from Europe.