Prevalence and Usage Trends of Large Language Models in Health Science Publications: A Cross-sectional Analysis

Background . The advent of Large Language Models (LLMs) has significantly impacted scientific research and publishing. However, the extent and nature of this impact across health sciences remain unclear. Objectives . To determine the prevalence and trends of LLM usage in health science publications from 2022 and 2024, and to analyze variations across countries, publishers, journals, and institutions. Methods . We conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection across twelve major health science disciplines. LLM usage was assessed using linguistic markers associated with LLM-generated text from the first five months (January 1 to May 31) of 2022 and 2024. Comparative analyses were performed with and without common LLM-related adjectives and adverbs. Results . The analysis revealed significant shifts in the global landscape of LLM usage in health science publications from 2022 to 2024. English-speaking countries, such as the USA (-10.350%, p<0.001) and England (-2.095%, p<0.001), showed a marked decrease in LLM-related research output, while Asian and Middle Eastern countries demonstrated substantial increases (China: +12.473%, p<0.001; India: +1.821%, p<0.001). This trend was mirrored at the institutional level, with prestigious Western institutions experiencing declines (Harvard University: -0.665%, p<0.001) and Chinese institutions showing growth (Chinese Academy of Sciences: +0.295%, p=0.054). Global publishers like Springer Nature (+9.178%, p<0.001) and open-access journals such as Cureus Journal of Medical Science (+3.040%, p<0.0001) saw significant increases in LLM-related publications Conclusion . The transition in the use of LLM from English-speaking to non-English-speaking countries, especially in Asia, presents both opportunities and challenges. These include addressing potential biases and differences in research integrity standards. This highlights the need for international collaboration to create consistent, ethical standards for LLMs in research. Future efforts should focus on developing methods to detect the use of LLMs use and assess their impact, ensuring that scientific outputs are equitable and of high quality globally.