Authorship and Characteristics of Articles in Pharmacy Journals: Changes Over a 20-Year Interval

Abstract

Background: To our knowledge, no studies have evaluated authorship patterns and characteristics of articles in pharmacy journals, Objective: To investigate changes over a 20-year period in authorship and characteristics of articles in pharmacy journals. Methods: All articles published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, and Pharmacotherapy in 1989, 1999, and 2009 were reviewed. Data collected for each article included article type, number of authors, number of physician authors, whether any author was affiliated with a pharmaceutical company, and source of funding. Results: The number of articles included was 574 in 1989, 659 in 1999, and 589 in 2009. The mean number of authors per article increased from 2.5 in 1989 to 2.8 in 1999 and 3.6 in 2009 (p< 0.001). Conversely, the proportion of articles with a single author decreased from 35% in 1989 to 23% in 1999 and 11 % in 2009 (p < 0.001), while the proportion of multi-authored articles (>6 authors) increased from 2% in 1989 to 3% in 1999 and 9% in 2009 (p < 0.001). A physician author was listed on 25% of papers in 1989, which increased to 38% in 1999 and 41% in 2009 (p < 0.001). Among research articles with declared funding from industry, there was an increase over time in reported author affiliation with an industry sponsor (10% of articles in 1989, 17% in 1999, and 66% in 2009; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Significant changes in authorship patterns and characteristics of articles were observed from 1989 to 2009. We found an increase in the number of authors per article over time, with fewer single-author papers now published. The explanations for the changes are likely multifactorial, including increased pressure to publish, increased research complexity, and inappropriate authorship. To prevent inappropriate author-number inflation and to preserve authorship's meaning and value, authors should adhere to the criteria for authorship from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.