Reporting of data on participant ethnicity and socioeconomic status in high-impact medical journals: a targeted literature review

Abstract

ObjectivesTo assess the frequency of reporting of ethnicity (or ‘race’) and socioeconomic status (SES) indicators in high-impact journals.DesignTargeted literature review.Data sourcesThe 10 highest ranked general medical journals using Google scholar h5 index.Eligibility criteriaInclusion criteria were, human research, reporting participant level data. Exclusion criteria were non-research article, animal/other non-human participant/subject or no participant characteristics reported.Data extraction and synthesisWorking backwards from 19 April 2021 in each journal, two independent reviewers selected the 10 most recent articles meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria, to create a sample of 100 articles. Data on the frequency of reporting of ethnicity (or ‘race’) and SES indicators were extracted and presented using descriptive statistics.ResultsOf 100 research articles included, 35 reported ethnicity and 13 SES. By contrast, 99 reported age, and 97 reported sex or gender. Among the articles not reporting ethnicity, only 3 (5%) highlighted this as a limitation, and only 6 (7%) where SES data were missing. Median number of articles reporting ethnicity per journal was 2.5/10 (range 0 to 9). Only two journals explicitly requested reporting of ethnicity (or race), and one requested SES.ConclusionsThe majority of research published in high-impact medical journals does not include data on the ethnicity and SES of participants, and this omission is rarely acknowledged as a limitation. This situation persists despite the well-established importance of this issue and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors recommendations to include relevant demographic variables to ensure representative samples. Standardised explicit minimum standards are required.