Auditing the Representation of Female Athletes in Sports Medicine Research: Fifth-Metatarsal Fractures

Background: Female representation within athletics has increased as a result of Title IX, rising popularity, demand for equal compensation, and greater participation in multiple sports. Despite this, gender disparities in sports medicine research are apparent. This project serves to review the liter...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Peter Klug BS, Jacob Adams BA, Gordon Lents MD, Rachel Long BS, Ashley Herda PhD, Bryan Vopat MD, Lisa Vopat MD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2024-04-01
Series:Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/24730114241241318
_version_ 1797221281360248832
author Peter Klug BS
Jacob Adams BA
Gordon Lents MD
Rachel Long BS
Ashley Herda PhD
Bryan Vopat MD
Lisa Vopat MD
author_facet Peter Klug BS
Jacob Adams BA
Gordon Lents MD
Rachel Long BS
Ashley Herda PhD
Bryan Vopat MD
Lisa Vopat MD
author_sort Peter Klug BS
collection DOAJ
description Background: Female representation within athletics has increased as a result of Title IX, rising popularity, demand for equal compensation, and greater participation in multiple sports. Despite this, gender disparities in sports medicine research are apparent. This project serves to review the literature available on fifth-metatarsal fractures and assess the representation of female athletes in current literature. Methods: We used a standardized protocol to audit the representation of female athletes in sports science and sports medicine research for fifth-metatarsal fractures. Primary factors included population, athletic caliber, menstrual status, research theme, sample of males and females, journal impact factor, and Altmetric score. Results: Thirty articles met the inclusion criteria. A total of 472 fifth-metatarsal fractures were identified, with 373 of 472 fractures (79%) occurring in males and 99 of 472 (21%) in females. The majority of studies (18/30, 60%) were mixed cohort, followed by 10 male only (33.33%), 1 female only (3.33%), and 1 male vs female (3.33%). Out of 831 total patients in the 18 mixed-cohort studies, 605 of 831 patients (72.8%) were male and 226 of 831 patients (27%) were female. All 18 mixed-sex cohorts investigated health outcomes. Male-only studies evaluated health outcomes and performance metrics. No studies investigated female performance. The one female-only study investigated health outcomes and was the only study to account for menstrual status. There was a single metatarsal fracture in this study population. Conclusion: Females are underrepresented in research regarding sports science and sports medicine research for fifth-metatarsal fractures. Research focused on female-only fifth-metatarsal fracture studies exploring the potential impact of female sex–specific factors such as menstrual status in study design are needed.
first_indexed 2024-04-24T13:02:56Z
format Article
id doaj.art-6996d90900724c2fb9d9d8f80cb64dab
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2473-0114
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-24T13:02:56Z
publishDate 2024-04-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics
spelling doaj.art-6996d90900724c2fb9d9d8f80cb64dab2024-04-05T10:03:25ZengSAGE PublishingFoot & Ankle Orthopaedics2473-01142024-04-01910.1177/24730114241241318Auditing the Representation of Female Athletes in Sports Medicine Research: Fifth-Metatarsal FracturesPeter Klug BS0Jacob Adams BA1Gordon Lents MD2Rachel Long BS3Ashley Herda PhD4Bryan Vopat MD5Lisa Vopat MD6Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USAKansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USADepartment of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, University of Kansas Health System, Kansas City, KS, USADepartment of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, University of Kansas Health System, Kansas City, KS, USADepartment of Health, Sport, and Exercise Sciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USADepartment of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, University of Kansas Health System, Kansas City, KS, USADepartment of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, University of Kansas Health System, Kansas City, KS, USABackground: Female representation within athletics has increased as a result of Title IX, rising popularity, demand for equal compensation, and greater participation in multiple sports. Despite this, gender disparities in sports medicine research are apparent. This project serves to review the literature available on fifth-metatarsal fractures and assess the representation of female athletes in current literature. Methods: We used a standardized protocol to audit the representation of female athletes in sports science and sports medicine research for fifth-metatarsal fractures. Primary factors included population, athletic caliber, menstrual status, research theme, sample of males and females, journal impact factor, and Altmetric score. Results: Thirty articles met the inclusion criteria. A total of 472 fifth-metatarsal fractures were identified, with 373 of 472 fractures (79%) occurring in males and 99 of 472 (21%) in females. The majority of studies (18/30, 60%) were mixed cohort, followed by 10 male only (33.33%), 1 female only (3.33%), and 1 male vs female (3.33%). Out of 831 total patients in the 18 mixed-cohort studies, 605 of 831 patients (72.8%) were male and 226 of 831 patients (27%) were female. All 18 mixed-sex cohorts investigated health outcomes. Male-only studies evaluated health outcomes and performance metrics. No studies investigated female performance. The one female-only study investigated health outcomes and was the only study to account for menstrual status. There was a single metatarsal fracture in this study population. Conclusion: Females are underrepresented in research regarding sports science and sports medicine research for fifth-metatarsal fractures. Research focused on female-only fifth-metatarsal fracture studies exploring the potential impact of female sex–specific factors such as menstrual status in study design are needed.https://doi.org/10.1177/24730114241241318
spellingShingle Peter Klug BS
Jacob Adams BA
Gordon Lents MD
Rachel Long BS
Ashley Herda PhD
Bryan Vopat MD
Lisa Vopat MD
Auditing the Representation of Female Athletes in Sports Medicine Research: Fifth-Metatarsal Fractures
Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics
title Auditing the Representation of Female Athletes in Sports Medicine Research: Fifth-Metatarsal Fractures
title_full Auditing the Representation of Female Athletes in Sports Medicine Research: Fifth-Metatarsal Fractures
title_fullStr Auditing the Representation of Female Athletes in Sports Medicine Research: Fifth-Metatarsal Fractures
title_full_unstemmed Auditing the Representation of Female Athletes in Sports Medicine Research: Fifth-Metatarsal Fractures
title_short Auditing the Representation of Female Athletes in Sports Medicine Research: Fifth-Metatarsal Fractures
title_sort auditing the representation of female athletes in sports medicine research fifth metatarsal fractures
url https://doi.org/10.1177/24730114241241318
work_keys_str_mv AT peterklugbs auditingtherepresentationoffemaleathletesinsportsmedicineresearchfifthmetatarsalfractures
AT jacobadamsba auditingtherepresentationoffemaleathletesinsportsmedicineresearchfifthmetatarsalfractures
AT gordonlentsmd auditingtherepresentationoffemaleathletesinsportsmedicineresearchfifthmetatarsalfractures
AT rachellongbs auditingtherepresentationoffemaleathletesinsportsmedicineresearchfifthmetatarsalfractures
AT ashleyherdaphd auditingtherepresentationoffemaleathletesinsportsmedicineresearchfifthmetatarsalfractures
AT bryanvopatmd auditingtherepresentationoffemaleathletesinsportsmedicineresearchfifthmetatarsalfractures
AT lisavopatmd auditingtherepresentationoffemaleathletesinsportsmedicineresearchfifthmetatarsalfractures