The Scholarly Infrastructure of Complex Benign Gynecology: A Bibliometric Analysis of Publication Patterns, Citation Impact, and Field Maturation from 2015-2025

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate publication patterns of Complex Benign Gynecology (CBG) scholarship in specialized and general Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) journals and assess their association with indicators of subspecialty maturation within the OB/GYN publication ecosystem. DESIGN: Retrospective bibliometric analysis. SETTING: Five major peer-reviewed gynecologic journals: Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology (JMIG), Fertility and Sterility (F&S), American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AJOG), BJOG, and Obstetrics & Gynecology (O&G). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2,798 articles published between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2025, identified through systematic searches for endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and chronic pelvic pain. INTERVENTIONS: Articles were stratified by Primary CBG Focus (disease as central objective) versus Secondary CBG Focus (disease as contextual variable). Publication volume, focus distribution, citation impact, and functional specialization were compared using chi-square tests, Kruskal-Wallis H tests, and multivariable regression models. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The five journals demonstrated distinct publication patterns that were complementary in scope. Specialized journals (JMIG and Fertility and Sterility) had a higher proportion of primary CBG-focused (62-77%) articles, whereas general OB/GYN journals published a larger share of secondary CBG-focused content (62-83%). Across journals, primary CBG-focus was independently associated with approximately 28% higher citation counts after adjustment for journal and publication year. JMIG contributed the largest volume of CBG publications but had lower per-article citation rates compared with the general and reproductive journals, consistent with its narrower subspecialty scope and audience. CONCLUSION: OB/GYN journals together support a collaborative publication environment for CBG scholarship, with subspecialty journals emphasizing disease-focused content (reflected by a higher proportion of primary CBG-focus articles and greater overall CBG volume) and general journals disseminating CBG work to broader clinical audiences (reflected by higher field-weighted citation efficiency and annual citation rates). These patterns are consistent with an emerging, differentiated scholarly profile for CBG.