Gender Disparities and Characteristics of Industry Payments Among Pediatric Ophthalmologists

To characterize and quantify the distribution of industry payments by gender in pediatric ophthalmology.

In this cross-sectional, retrospective study, the Open Payments Database was queried for industry payments to pediatric ophthalmologists in the United States from 2017 to 2023. Private research payments were compared to public research funding by the U.S. federal government. The Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator was used to adjust for inflation. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare payments between groups. The primary outcomes were gender, temporal, and geographic trends in industry funding, adjusted for inflation.

A total of 200 pediatric ophthalmologists received industry payments totaling $426,405.25 from 2017 to 2023. Despite representing 58.1% of the work-force, male pediatric ophthalmologists received 74.6% ($317,894.59) of total general payments. However, the median payment per ophthalmologist was $112.02 for men and $138.20 for women (P = .242). Only 24% of pediatric ophthalmologists received industry payments. The top 10 highest-paid pediatric ophthalmologists collectively received $348,801.66, representing 81.8% of the total sum. Kansas, Arizona, Missouri, Kentucky, and Colorado had the highest proportion of pediatric ophthalmologists receiving industry payments. Only three pediatric ophthalmologists (100% female) received industry research funding amounting to $7,843.09, compared to 186 investigators (33.9% female) receiving $279,545,982.00 in public funding over the study period.

Both private industry payments and public research payments are limited and unevenly distributed in the field of pediatric ophthalmology. These findings add another layer of evidence to the systemic challenges faced by the subspeciality.