Sex and Race Representation in Temporal Bone Histopathology Studies in the United States: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objectives: The author’s objective was to evaluate sex and race representation in temporal bone histopathology studies. Design: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched for studies written in English examining temporal bone histopathology specimens from U.S.-based institutions from January 1, 1947, to September 1, 2021. Two authors then performed “snowballing” by reviewing references from the initial search and included the studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. For each study, the following information was collected: publication details, study design, funding, institution from where temporal bone specimens were procured, number of study specimens, and donor demographical information. Results: The authors found that out of 300 studies, 166 (55%) report sex while only 15 (5%) reported race information. Over the past 70 years, the ratio of studies reporting sex to those that do not has increased from 1.00 to 2.19 and the number of female temporal bone histopathology subjects relative to male has increased from 0.67 to 0.75. Over 90% of studies that do report this information feature participant racial compositions that do not reflect the diversity of the U.S. population. Conclusions: Studies of temporal bone histopathology often do not report participant sex or race. The reporting of participant sex and the inclusion of specimens from female donors have both increased over time. However, temporal bone histopathology study cohorts are not representative of the racial diversity of the U.S. population. The otolaryngology community must strive to build temporal bone histopathology libraries that are representative of the diverse U.S. population.