Journal of Medical Ethics at 50: a data-driven history

In this paper, we take a data-driven approach to analyse intellectual trends over the first five decades of the Journal of Medical Ethics (JME). Our data set, comprising all texts published in the JME since 1975, reveals not only the most distinctive topics of the JME in comparison to other key journals with similar profiles but also diachronic fluctuations in the prominence of certain topics. Overall, the distribution of topics shifted gradually, with each editorial period at the JME showing continuity with its immediate predecessor. However, a significant drift in topic distribution is evident over the 50 years, with some editorial periods being more 'disruptive' than others. These disruptions were influenced by external events (eg, Public health emergencies), broader trends in bioethics (eg, the recent growth of topics such as Race, Privacy and Vaccination) or editors' preferences (eg, Ethics education). Additionally, our data provides insights into editorials where editors outlined their visions for the journal or reflected retrospectively on their past editorship.