A review of articles published in Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 1975-94

Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, the official journal of the Aerospace Medical Association, is dedicated to serving and supporting all who work to solve the problems of living and working in hazardous environments on, above, and beneath the earth and sea. This study examines and analyzes the characteristics of authors and their articles published in Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine over a 20-y period, from 1975-94. There were 3562 articles meeting inclusion criteria published during this period. Articles were analyzed for article length, number of authors per article, country and institution of origin, main topic, and educational preparation of authors. The majority of articles originated in the United States (68%), followed by England (7%), Canada (5%), France (3%), Israel (2%), and Russia/USSR (2%). The number of different countries contributing articles increased from 26 countries in the first 5 yr to 35 countries in the last 5 yr. The content has remained relatively uniform, with the most frequent topics being aviation medicine, aerospace physiology, environmental medicine, and space medicine. The most infrequent topics were health promotion and wellness, occupational health, and aerospace nursing. Over 85% of articles in which the educational status of authors was known were written by authors with a doctorate degree. Most primary authors possessed a doctor of medicine (38%) degree, doctor of philosophy (37%) degree, or both (5%). This analysis can provide insight into the history and future of aerospace and environmental medicine and physiology, since the contents of the Journal clearly reflect the interests of individuals working in these fields.