Evaluation of h-index in Academic Interventional Radiology

This study evaluates the association of h-index, a widely used bibliometric factor used to determine promotions and grant allocations, with academic ranking, sex, and geographic distribution in the interventional radiology community.A database of all academic interventional radiologists in the US was created; academic rank, sex, institution, and geographic location were obtained. The Scopus database was used to determine the physicians' h-index.Our query identified 832 board-certified interventional radiologists. The mean h-index amongst all interventional radiologists was 10.81 ± 13.17 (median, 7; range, 0-167). H-indices were significantly different amongst assistant professors, associate professors, and professors (p < 0.0001). Our query identified 724 male interventional radiologists and 108 female interventional radiologists. The mean h-index amongst male interventional radiologists was 11.27 ± 13.69 (median, 7; range, 0-167) and amongst female interventional radiologists was 7.72 ± 8.33 (median, 5; range, 0-47). When stratified by rank, there was no statistically significant difference in h-index between male and female interventional radiologists. Multiple regression analysis identified sex is not significantly associated with h-index, but academic rank and region are.H-index in academic interventional radiology correlates significantly with faculty position and may be a factor in determining academic promotion. The sex-based differences in h-index seem to be due to the greater number of male faculty in senior academic positions who have been in the field for longer.