The one fixed point in a changing age. An analysis of half-secular trends among original papers published in The Lancet 1945-95.
We performed a systematic survey of original papers published in The Lancet throughout the years 1945, 1946, 1970 and 1995. The Lancet was chosen due to a conservative layout through these years, and the year 1946 added to the analysis to ponder for any war-induced bias. The general layout and structure of the journal were indeed maintained throughout these years. The number of authors per paper increased steadily (from 1.7 +/- 1.3 in 1945 to 6.4 +/- 3.4 in 1995), as well as the number of papers written on behalf of investigation groups (from 1 in 1945 to 37 in 1995). Major changes were observed in the area of origin of the papers, from an overwhelming British Isles' preponderance (87% of papers published in 1945) to a partake with Continental Europe, America and international groups (27, 33, 15 and 12%, respectively of the 1995 papers). The most often addressed fields of medicine shifted from war-, surgery- and microbiology-related subjects in 1945 towards cardiology-, oncology-, and virus-related works in 1995. The most impressive and enduring change was the increase in the use of statistical tools for data analysis and presentation (0.3% of papers in 1945 vs. 60% in 1995).
Selvais
P
P
Divisions of Endocrinology, Hornu Medical Center, University Hospital Erasme, Belgium. philippe.selvais@caramail.com
Hermans
M
M
D001319:Authorship; D015510:Clinical Medicine / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends; D003625:Data Collection; D035081:Editorial Policies; D005060:Europe; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000266:history*; D011643:Publishing / Q000266:history*; D012107:Research Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014481:United States