Bibliometric analysis of worldwide publications on multi-, extensively, and totally drug - resistant tuberculosis (2006-2015)

BACKGROUND

The year 2015 marked the end of United Nations Millennium Development Goals which was aimed at halting and reversing worldwide tuberculosis (TB). The emergence of drug resistance is a major challenge for worldwide TB control. The aim of this study was to give a bibliometric overview of publications on multi-, extensively, and totally drug-resistant TB.

METHODS

Scopus database was used to retrieve articles on multidrug resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR), and totally drug-resistant (TDR) tuberculosis for the study period (2006-2015). The number of publications, top productive countries and institutions, citation analysis, co-authorships, international collaboration, active authors, and active journals were retrieved and analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 2260 journal articles were retrieved. The mean ± SD citations per article was 7.04 ± 16.0. The h-index of retrieved data was 76. The number of publications showed a three - fold increase over the study period compared with less than two - fold increase in tuberculosis research during the same study period. Stratified by number of publications, the United States of America ranked first while Switzerland ranked first in productivity per 100 million people, and South Africa ranked first in productivity stratified per one trillion Gross Domestic Product. Three of the High Burden Countries (HBC) MDR-TB (India, China, and South Africa) were present in top productive countries. High percentage of international collaboration was seen among most HBC MDR-TB. Except for Plos One journal, most active journals in publishing articles on MDR, XDR, TDR-TB were in infection - related fields and in general medicine. Top 20 cited articles were published in prestigious journal such as Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine. The themes in top 20 cited articles were diverse, ranging from molecular biology, diagnostic tools, co-infection with HIV, and results of new anti-TB drugs.

CONCLUSION

Publications on MDR, XDR and TDR - TB are increasing in the past decade. International collaboration was common. Many low resourced African and Asian countries will benefit from research leading to new diagnostic and screening technology of TB. The exchange of expertise, ideas and technology is of paramount importance in this field.

Drinking and recreational water-related diseases: a bibliometric analysis (1980-2015)

BACKGROUND

Water - related diseases are worldwide health concern. Microbial contamination and contaminant products in water are a source of disease outbreaks and development of cumulative toxic effects. Ensuring safe water is one of the goals to be achieved at the global level. The aim of this study was to assess publications on drinking and recreational water from a health point of view to understand current problems and future research trends in this field.

METHODS

Scopus, the largest scientific electronic database, was used to retrieve related articles and present the results as bibliometric tables and maps. Search query was modified manually using related terms to maximize accuracy.

RESULTS

A total of 2267 publications were retrieved with an average of 16.82 citations per article. The h-index of retrieved articles was 88. Visual mapping showed that E. coli, diarrhea, cryptosporidiosis, fluoride, arsenic, cancer, chlorine, trihalomethane, and H. pylori were most frequently encountered terms in title and abstract of retrieved articles. The number of articles on water microbiology was a significant (P < 0.01) predictor of worldwide productivity of water - related disease publications. Journal of Water and Health ranked first in number of publications with 136 (6.00 %) articles. The United States of America ranked first in productivity with a total of 623 (27.48 %) articles. Germany (15.44 %), India (16.00 %) and China (20.66 %) had the least international collaboration in water-related disease research. Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Prevention and Control were among top ten productive institutions. In the top ten cited articles, there were three articles about arsenic, one about aluminum, one about trihalomethane, one about nitrate, one about toxoplasmosis, one about gastroenteritis, and the remaining two articles were general ones.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a linear increase in the number of publications on water - related diseases in the last decade. Arsenic, in drinking water is a serious concern. Cryptosporidiosis and other infectious gastroenteritis remain a major health risk of exposure to contaminated water. Increased number of publications from Asian countries was not associated with a high percentage of international collaboration.

Contribution of Arab countries to pharmaceutical wastewater literature: a bibliometric and comparative analysis of research output

BACKGROUND

Recently, the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry has been growing rapidly in many countries in the world, including in Arab countries. Pharmaceuticals reach aquatic environments and are prevalent at small concentrations in wastewater from the drug manufacturing industry and hospitals. Such presence also occurs in domestic wastewater and results from the disposal of unused and expired medicines. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze and compare the quantity and quality of publications made by researchers in Arab countries on pharmaceutical wastewater.

METHODS

To retrieve documents related to pharmaceutical wastewater, we used the Scopus database on November 21, 2015. All documents with terms related to pharmaceutical wastewater in the title or abstract were analysed. Results obtained from Arab countries were compared with those obtained from Turkey, Iran and Israel.

RESULTS

Globally, a total of 6360 publications were retrieved while those from Arab countries, Iran, Turkey and Israel, were 179, 113, 96 and 54 publications respectively. The highest share of publications belonged to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with a total of 47 (26.2 %) publications, followed by Egypt (38; 21.2 %), Tunisia (17; 9.5 %) and Morocco (16; 8.9 %). The total number of citations was 1635, with a mean of 9.13 and a median (inter quartile range) of 3 (1.0-10.0). The study identified 87 (48.6 %) documents with 32 countries of international collaboration with Arab countries. It was noted that Arab researchers collaborated mainly with authors in Western Europe (54; 30.2 %), followed by authors from the Asiatic region (29; 16.2 %) and Northern America (15; 8.4 %). The most productive institution was King Saud University, KSA (13; 7.3 %), followed by the National Research Centre, Egypt (10; 7.3 %).

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that KSA has the largest share of productivity on pharmaceutical wastewater research. Bibliometric analysis demonstrated that research productivity, mainly from Arab countries in pharmaceutical wastewater research, was relatively lagging behind. More research effort is required for Arab countries to catch up with those of non-Arab Middle Easter countries on pharmaceutical wastewater research.

Relationship of treatment satisfaction to health-related quality of life: findings from a cross-sectional survey among hypertensive patients in Palestine

BACKGROUND

Evaluation of the association between treatment satisfaction and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) may enable health-care providers to understand the issues that influence quality of life and to recognize the aspects of hypertension treatment that need improvement to enhance the long-term treatment outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between HRQoL and treatment satisfaction in a sample of Palestinian hypertensive patients.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted, adopting the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM 1.4) for the assessment of treatment satisfaction and using the European Quality of Life scale (EQ-5D-5L) for the assessment of HRQoL. Descriptive and comparative statistics were used to describe socio-demographic and disease-related characteristics of the patients. All analyses were performed using SPSS v 15.0.

RESULTS

Four hundred and ten hypertensive patients were enrolled in the study. This study findings indicate a positive correlation between all satisfaction domains and HRQoL. Significant differences were observed between this study variables (P < 0.001). After adjustment for covariates using multiple linear regression, an increase of one point in the global satisfaction scale was associated with a 0.16 increase in EQ-5D index scores (r = 0.16; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with reportedly higher satisfaction scores have reported relatively higher EQ-5D-5L index values. These study findings could be helpful in clinical practice, mainly in the early treatment of hypertensive patients, at a point where improving treatment satisfaction and HRQoL is still possible.

Parental knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding antibiotic use for acute upper respiratory tract infections in children: a cross-sectional study in Palestine

BACKGROUND

In primary health care centres, upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in children are commonly encountered by physicians. Viruses cause most URTIs, but parents' attitudes often represent an important reason for antibiotic abuse, which leads to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. The goal of this study was to examine parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) about antibiotic use for children with URTIs in Palestine.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed in primary health care centres in Nablus city from 1 June to 31 October 2012. A questionnaire was developed and administered to determine parents' KAP regarding antibiotic use for their children with URTIs.

RESULTS

Three hundred and eighty-five parents completed the questionnaire. A total of 79.7% of the parents were attentive to the truth that antibiotic misuse is responsible for bacterial resistance. Only 18.9% of parents thought that antibiotics did not have any harmful side effects. Fifty nine per cent of parents did not agree that URTIs are mostly viral in origin and are self-limited. Almost 73% of parents choose antibiotics as a treatment for URTIs, while earache (68%) and fever (64%) were the most common reasons for which parents expected antibiotics. However, more than 38% of the parents never asked the paediatrician to prescribe antibiotics, and only 6% congratulated their paediatricians for not prescribing antibiotics.

CONCLUSIONS

Although there is a trusted relationship between parents and paediatricians, Palestinian parents have insufficient knowledge related to antibiotic use for URTIs in children, which results in inappropriate attitudes and practices. Educational interventions for both parents and physicians will reduce unnecessary antibiotic use and resistance.

Global methaemoglobinaemia research output (1940-2013): a bibliometric analysis

Bibliometric studies, which involve the use of statistical methods, are increasingly being used for research assessment. A bibliometric analysis was conducted to evaluate the publication pattern of methaemoglobinaemia research output at the global level based on the Scopus database. We analysed selected documents with "methemoglobinemia", or "methaemoglobinaemia" as a part of the title and reported the following parameters: trends of publication output, country of publication, journal pattern, collaborative measures, citations pattern, and institute productivity. A total of 1770 articles were published worldwide. The time trend for the number of articles showed an increase after 2000. The highest number of articles related to methaemoglobinaemia was from the USA (24.8 %), followed distantly by the UK (4.5 %), India (3.7 %), and France (3.7 %). No data related to methaemoglobinaemia were published from 152 countries. The total number of citations at the date of data collection was 10,080, with an average of 5.7 citations per document. The USA and UK had the highest h-index of 31 and 14, respectively, and six countries had an h-index of 9-14. It is notable that Canada was ranked eighth in the number of publications but fourth in h-index and India was ranked third in the number of publications but eighth in h-index. Furthermore, Canada produced the most internationally collaborated papers out of the total number of publications for each country (16.1 %), followed by the UK (13.9 %). This bibliometric analysis provides data contributing to a better understanding of the methaemoglobinaemia research field. The number of publications on methaemoglobinaemia increased significantly after 2000. The USA was the most productive country as measured by total publications. The USA and UK achieved the highest h-index in the field of methaemoglobinaemia research, signifying a higher quality of research than other countries.

The Arab world's contribution to solid waste literature: a bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Environmental and health-related effects of solid waste material are considered worldwide problems. The aim of this study was to assess the volume and impact of Arab scientific output published in journals indexed in the Science Citation Index (SCI) on solid waste.

METHODS

We included all the documents within the SCI whose topic was solid waste from all previous years up to 31 December 2012. In this bibliometric analysis we sought to evaluate research that originated from Arab countries in the field of solid waste, as well as its relative growth rate, collaborative measures, productivity at the institutional level, and the most prolific journals.

RESULTS

A total of 382 (2.35 % of the overall global research output in the field of solid waste) documents were retrieved from the Arab countries. The annual number of documents published in the past three decades (1982-2012) indicated that research productivity demonstrated a noticeable rise during the last decade. The highest number of articles associated with solid waste was that of Egypt (22.8 %), followed by Tunisia (19.6), and Jordan (13.4 %). the total number of citations over the analysed years at the date of data collection was 4,097, with an average of 10.7 citations per document. The h-index of the citing articles was 31. Environmental science was the most researched topic, represented by 175 (45.8 %) articles. Waste Management was the top active journal. The study recognized 139 (36.4 %) documents from collaborations with 25 non-Arab countries. Arab authors mainly collaborated with countries in Europe (22.5 %), especially France, followed by countries in the Americas (9.4 %), especially the USA. The most productive institution was the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, with 6.3 % of total publications.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the expected increase in solid waste production from Arab world, research activity about solid waste is still low. Governments must invest more in solid waste research to avoid future unexpected problems. Finally, since solid waste is a multidisciplinary science, research teams in engineering, health, toxicology, environment, geology and others must be formulated to produce research in solid waste from different scientific aspects.

Scientific publications from Arab world in leading journals of Integrative and Complementary Medicine: a bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Bibliometric analysis is increasingly employed as a useful tool to assess the quantity and quality of research performance. The specific goal of the current study was to evaluate the performance of research output originating from Arab world and published in international Integrative and Complementary Medicine (ICM) journals.

METHODS

Original scientific publications and reviews from the 22 Arab countries that were published in 22 international peer-reviewed ICM journals during all previous years up to December 31(st) 2013, were screened using the Web of Science databases.

RESULTS

Five hundred and ninety-one documents were retrieved from 19 ICM journals. The h-index of the set of papers under study was 47. The highest h-index was 27 for Morocco, 21 for Jordan, followed by 19 for each Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and Egypt, and the lowest h-index was 1 for each of Comoros, Qatar, and Syrian Arab Republic. No data related to ICM were published from Djibouti, and Mauritania. After adjusting for economy and population power, Somalia (89), Morocco (32.5), Egypt (31.1), Yemen (21.4), and Palestine (21.2) had the highest research productivity. The total number of citations was 9,466, with an average citation of 16 per document. The study identified 262 (44.3 %) documents with 39 countries in Arab-foreign country collaborations. Arab authors collaborated most with countries in Europe (24.2 %), followed by countries in the Asia-Pacific region (9.8 %).

CONCLUSION

Scientific research output in the ICM field in the Arab world region is increasing. Most of publications from Arab world in ICM filed were driven by societal use of medicinal plants and herbs. Search for new therapies from available low cost medicinal plants in Arab world has motivated many researchers in academia and pharmaceutical industry. Further investigation is required to support these findings in a wider journal as well as to improve research output in the field of ICM from Arab world region by investing in more national and international collaborative research project.

Public, environmental, and occupational health research activity in Arab countries: bibliometric, citation, and collaboration analysis

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to analyze quantity, assess quality, and investigate international collaboration in research from Arab countries in the field of public, environmental and occupational health.

METHODS

Original scientific articles and reviews published from the 22 Arab countries in the category "public, environmental & occupational health" during the study period (1900 - 2012) were screened using the ISI Web of Science database.

RESULTS

The total number of original and review research articles published in the category of "public, environmental & occupational health" from Arab countries was 4673. Main area of research was tropical medicine (1862; 39.85%). Egypt with 1200 documents (25.86%) ranked first in quantity and ranked first in quality of publications (h-index = 51). The study identified 2036 (43.57%) documents with international collaboration. Arab countries actively collaborated with authors in Western Europe (22.91%) and North America (21.04%). Most of the documents (79.9%) were published in public health related journals while 21% of the documents were published in journals pertaining to prevention medicine, environmental, occupational health and epidemiology.

CONCLUSION

Research in public, environmental and occupational health in Arab countries is in the rise. Public health research was dominant while environmental and occupation health research was relatively low. International collaboration was a good tool for increasing research quantity and quality.

Bibliometric profile of the global scientific research on methanol poisoning (1902-2012)

BACKGROUND

Methanol poisoning is on the rise and has been associated with high morbidity and mortality; it has resulted in growing research in the field of toxicology. The aim of this study was to reveal underlying patterns in scientific outputs related to methanol poisoning at the global level by evaluating different bibliometric indices.

METHODS

We searched for publications that contained specific words regarding methanol poisoning in Scopus database.

RESULTS

A total of 912 articles, with 8,317 citations and with an average of 9.1 citations per document, were retrieved on methanol poisoning, and the bulk of the articles were published from the USA (20.9%), followed by Spain (4.4%), Canada (4.3%), India (3.1%), and France (3.0%). The articles were published belonging to 57 countries. No data related to methanol poisoning were published from 155 (73.1%) out of 212 countries. Twenty-one documents (2.3%) were published in Clinical Toxicology, whereas 18 (2.0%) were published in The Lancet.

CONCLUSIONS

Scientific production related to methanol poisoning is increasing. articles have been published in a wide range of journals with a variety of subject areas, most notably clinical toxicology; and the country with the greatest production was the USA.

Contribution of Arab countries to breast cancer research: comparison with non-Arab Middle Eastern countries

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancers affecting women worldwide. The main objective of this study was to assess and compare research activity in breast cancer in Arab countries with non-Arab Middle Eastern countries.

METHODS

Publications about "breast cancer" as a research topic were retrieved using the ISI Web of Science database. Analysis was confined to original research and review articles. Research productivity was assessed by assessing number of publications and time trend of these publications, names of journals, citation analysis, top 10 active institutions as well as country contribution to breast cancer research. The quantity and quality of publications from Arab countries in addition to 3 other Middle East countries (Turkey, Iran and Israel) were assessed and compared using the h-index tool.

RESULTS

A total of 1658 original research and review articles about "breast cancer" were published from Arab countries. Annual research productivity from Arab countries in the field of "breast cancer" was negligible but showed a significant increase in the last decade. Retrieved documents had relatively high citation parameters as measured by h-index of 61 and average citations of 17.46 per document. The highest research productivity was from Egypt with a total publication of 582 (35.10%). Cairo University with a total of 149 (8.99%) publications had the highest research productivity among institutions in Arab world. Forty four documents (2.65%) of breast cancer documents were published in Saudi Medical Journal. Arab researchers collaborated mostly with researchers from the United States of America (305; 18.40%) in breast cancer research. Compared with other non-Arab Middle Eastern countries, Arab countries had higher research productivity than some countries and lower than others, particularly Israel.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data reveals a good contribution of some Arab countries to the field of "breast cancer" research. There is a gap between Arab countries and Israel in the quality of breast cancer research.

Contribution of Arab researchers to ophthalmology: a bibliometric and comparative analysis

Through history, Arabs and Muslims have made valuable contribution to medicine and science. The main objective of this study was to assess the contribution of Arab researchers to ophthalmology using bibliometric indicators. Published articles in "Ophthalmology" authored by Arab researchers were screened and analyzed using ISI Web of Science database. Worldwide research productivity in ophthalmology was 216,921 documents while that from Arab countries; Israel, Turkey and Iran were 2083, 2932, 3027 and 859 documents respectively. Those from Arab countries were published in 85 peer-reviewed ophthalmology related journals with 280 (13.44%) documents published in Journal Francais d Ophtalmologie. Among Arab countries, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had the highest (828 (39.75%)) research output followed by Egypt (461 (22.13%)) and Tunisia 210 (10.08). Countries with highest collaboration with researchers in Arab world in ophthalmology research were USA; (397; 19.06%) followed by England (92; 4.42%) and Spain (91; 4.37%). The most research productive organization in Arab countries was King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital (396; 19.01%). Ophthalmology articles authored or co-authored by an Arab researcher had a total citation f 21098 with an average citation of 10.13 per document and an h-index of 51. In conclusion, the present data show promising increase but relatively low ophthalmology research productivity from Arab countries. Wide variation in research productivity do exists. Compared with other non-Arab countries in the Middle East, Arab countries showed lesser ophthalmology research activity than Israel and Turkey but higher than that in Iran.

Worldwide research productivity in emergency contraception: a bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

The main goal of this study was to assess worldwide research activity in emergency contraception (EC) using bibliometric indicators.

METHODS

Data in SciVerse Scopus were searched for documents pertaining to emergency contraception. Data obtained were then exported to Microsoft Excel and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.

RESULTS

A total of 2142 documents were published about EC worldwide. Documents were written in 27 different languages and were published from 78 countries. Publications in EC started on late 1960s. Total number of citations for published EC documents was 30154 while median citation per document was six. The h-index of the retrieved documents was 58. The leading country in EC research was United States of America with a total of 559 documents (26.10%). One hundred and ninety five (9.10%) documents were published in Contraception journal. The leading institution in EC research and publications was Princeton University (50; 2.33%) followed by University of California, San Francisco (34; 1.59%).

CONCLUSIONS

The present data revealed that there is a worldwide increasing interest in EC research. Willingness of health policy makers to make EC accessible to the public will determine the future of EC research activity and future of EC as a contraceptive method.

Assessment of research productivity of Arab countries in the field of infectious diseases using Web of Science database

BACKGROUND

To meet the future challenges of infectious diseases and limit the spread of multidrug resistant microorganisms, a better understanding of published studies in the field of infectious diseases is needed. The objective of this study was to analyze the quantity and quality of research activity in the field of infectious diseases in Arab countries and compare it with that in non-Arab countries.

METHODS

Documents published in Arab countries within the research category of "infectious diseases" were extracted and analyzed using the Web of Science database. The data analyzed represent research productivity during the time interval between 1900 - 2012.

RESULTS

Worldwide, the total number of documents published in the field of infectious diseases up to 2012 was 227,188. A total of 2,408 documents in the field of infectious diseases were published in Arab countries, which represents 1.06% of worldwide research output. Research output from Arab countries in the field of infectious diseases was low for decades. However, approximately a five-fold increase was observed in the past decade. Arab countries ranked 56(th) to 218(th) on the standard competition ranking (SCR) in worldwide publications in the field of infectious diseases. Egypt, with a total publication of 464 (19.27%) documents ranked first among Arab countries, while Kuwait University was the most productive institution with a total of 158 (6.56%) documents. Average citation per document published in Arab countries was 13.25 and the h-index was 64. Tuberculosis (230; 9.55%), malaria (223; 9.26%), and hepatitis (189; 7.8%) were the top three infectious diseases studied as according to the retrieved documents.

CONCLUSION

The present data reveals that some Arab countries contribute significantly to the field of infectious diseases. However, Arab countries need to work harder to bridge the gap in this field. Compared with non-Arab countries in the Middle East, research output from Arab countries was high, but more efforts are needed to enhance the quality of this output. Future research in the field should be encouraged and correctly directed.

Substance use disorders in Arab countries: research activity and bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Substance use disorders, which include substance abuse and substance dependence, are present in all regions of the world including Middle Eastern Arab countries. Bibliometric analysis is an increasingly used tool for research assessment. The main objective of this study was to assess research productivity in the field of substance use disorders in Arab countries using bibliometric indicators.

METHODOLOGY

Original or review research articles authored or co-authored by investigators from Arab countries about substance use disorders during the period 1900-2013 were retrieved using the ISI Web of Science database. Research activity was assessed by analyzing the annual research productivity, contribution of each Arab country, names of journals, citations, and types of abused substances.

RESULTS

Four hundred and thirteen documents in substance use disorders were retrieved. Annual research productivity was low but showed a significant increase in the last few years. In terms of quantity, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (83 documents) ranked first in research about substance use disorders while Lebanon (17.4 documents per million) ranked first in terms of number of documents published per million inhabitants. Retrieved documents were found in different journal titles and categories, mostly in Drug and Alcohol Dependence Journal. Authors from USA appeared in 117 documents published by investigators from Arab countries. Citation analysis of retrieved documents showed that the average citation per document was 10.76 and the h - index was 35. The majority of retrieved documents were about tobacco and smoking (175 documents) field while alcohol consumption and abuse research was the least with 69 documents.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained suggest that research in this field was largely neglected in the past. However, recent research interest was observed. Research output on tobacco and smoking was relatively high compared to other substances of abuse like illicit drugs and medicinal agents. Governmental funding for academics and mental health graduate programs to do research in the field of substance use disorders is highly recommended.

Bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: research activity in Arab countries

BACKGROUND

Chronic respiratory diseases, like bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are a worldwide health problem. Quantitative and qualitative assessment of asthma and COPD-related research from Arab countries has not been explored and there are few internationally published reports on such field. The main objectives of this study were to analyze research output originating from Arab countries in the field of bronchial asthma and COPD.

METHODS

Original scientific articles or reviews published from the 22 Arab countries were screened using specific words pertaining to asthma and COPD using Scopus database and search engine. Research productivity was evaluated based on: (a) total and trends of contribution of each Arab country to asthma and COPD research and (b) journals in which researchers from Arab countries published their research.

RESULTS

The total number of original research and review articles published globally about bronchial asthma and COPD was 163,964. The leading country in bronchial asthma and COPD research was United States of America (38,632; 23.56%). Worldwide, Turkey ranked 19th while Israel and Iran ranked 25th and 29th respectively. Among Arab countries, Egypt and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia came on positions 39th and 43rd, respectively. A total of 1,304 documents about bronchial asthma and COPD were published from Arab countries which represents 0.8% of the global research output. Research in bronchial asthma was almost double that in COPD. Research from Arab countries was low and showed a significant increase after 2000. Approximately 12% of research activity in asthma and COPD from Arab countries was published in Saudi Medical Journal, Annals of Saudi Medicine, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal and Tunisie Medicale. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a total publication of 353 (27.07%) ranked first among the Arab countries while University of Kuwait was the most productive institution with a total of 123 (9.43%) documents.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data showed relatively low research productivity about bronchial asthma and COPD in Arab countries. Research output can be improved by investing more in international and national collaborative research projects in the field of asthma and COPD.

Quantity and quality of obesity-related research in Arab countries: assessment and comparative analysis

BACKGROUND

Obesity is a serious worldwide medical condition, considered by some researchers as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. The main objective of this study was to assess the quantity and quality of obesity-related research from Arab countries and compare it with that from non-Arab Middle Eastern countries.

METHODS

Original scientific articles or reviews published by Arab countries about obesity up until 2011 were screened using the ISI Web of Science database. Research activity was assessed by analyzing the annual research productivity, journals names, citations, top 10 active institutions, and the contribution of each Arab country to obesity research.

RESULTS

The total number of original and review research articles published globally about obesity was 110,167. The leading country in obesity research was United States of America (42.47%). Turkey, Israel, and Iran were in the top 30 countries while Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Egypt, and Kuwait ranked 39th, 43rd, and 47th, respectively. A total of 1,121 documents about "obesity" were published by Arab countries, representing 1.0% of the global research output, with 13,343 citations (average citation of 11.9 per document) and an h-index of 44. The Arab countries' research output was very low until the mid-1990s and then increased steadily. Of the 1,121 documents, 107 (9.55%) were published in the Saudi Medical Journal. KSA, with a total of 318 publications ranked first among Arab countries in research quantity while Kuwait ranked first after adjustment based on population size. King Saud University in KSA was the most productive institution with a total of 140 documents. Compared with other non-Arab Middle Eastern countries, the research productivity from Arab countries was lower than that from Turkey, higher than that from Iran, and close to that from Israel. However, the h-index of documents about obesity published from Arab countries was lower than that of Turkey and Israel, but slightly higher than that from Iran.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data reveals a good contribution by some Arab countries, particularly Arab gulf countries, to obesity research. More efforts are needed by other Arab countries to bridge the gap in this topic and to improve the quality of obesity-related research originating from Arab countries.

Worldwide research productivity in the field of electronic cigarette: a bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Electronic cigarette (EC) is an emerging phenomenon that is becoming increasingly popular with smokers worldwide. There is a lack of data concerning the evaluation of research productivity in the field of EC originating from the world. The main objectives of this study were to analyse worldwide research output in EC field, and to examine the authorship pattern and the citations retrieved from the Scopus database.

METHODS

Data were searched for documents with specific words regarding EC as "keywords" in the title. Scientific output was evaluated based on the methodology developed and used in other bibliometric studies by investigation: (a) total and trends of contributions in EC research during all previous years up to the date of data analysis (June 13, 2014); (b) authorship patterns and research productivity; (c) countries contribution; and (d) citations received by the publications.

RESULTS

Three hundred and fifty-six documents were retrieved comprising 31.5% original journal articles, 16% letters to the editor, 7.9% review articles, and 44.6% documents that were classified as other types of publications, such as notes or editorials or opinions. The retrieved documents were published in 162 peer-reviewed journals. All retrieved documents were published from 27 countries. the largest number of publications in the field of EC was from the United States of America (USA); (33.7%), followed by the United Kingdom (UK); (11.5%), and Italy (8.1%). The total number of citations at the time of data analysis was 2.277, with an average of 6.4 citations per document and median (interquartile range) of 0.0 (0.0-5.0). The h-index of the retrieved documents was 27. The most productive institutions were Food and Drug Administration, USA (4.2% of total publications) followed by Universita degli Studi di Catania, Italy (3.9%), University of California, San Francisco, USA (3.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

This bibliometric study is a testament to the progress in EC research from the world over the last few years. More effort is needed to bridge the gap in EC-based research and to promote better evaluation of EC, risks, health effects, or control services worldwide.

A Scopus-based examination of tobacco use publications in Middle Eastern Arab countries during the period 2003-2012

BACKGROUND

Tobacco smoking is the main health-care problem in the world. Evaluation of scientific output in the field of tobacco use has been poorly explored in Middle Eastern Arab (MEA) countries to date, and there are few internationally published reports on research activity in tobacco use. The main objectives of this study were to analyse the research output originating from 13 MEA countries on tobacco fields and to examine the authorship pattern and the citations retrieved from the Scopus database.

METHODS

Data from 1 January 2003 through 31 December 2012 were searched for documents with specific words regarding the tobacco field as 'keywords' in the title in any 1 of the 13 MEA countries. Research productivity was evaluated based on a methodology developed and used in other bibliometric studies.

RESULTS

Five hundred documents were retrieved from 320 peer-reviewed journals. The greatest amount of research activity was from Egypt (25.4%), followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (23.2%), Lebanon (16.3%), and Jordan (14.8%). The total number of citations for the 560 documents, at the time of data analysis (27 August 2013), was 5,585, with a mean ± SD of 9.95 ± 22.64 and a median (interquartile range) of 3(1-10). The h-index of the retrieved documents was 34. This study identified 232 (41.4%) documents from 53 countries in MEA-foreign country collaborations. By region, MEA collaborated most often with countries in the Americas (29.6%), followed by countries in the same MEA region (13.4%), especially KSA and Egypt.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data reveal a promising rise and a good start for research productivity in the tobacco field in the Arab world. Research output is low in some countries, which can be improved by investing in more international and national collaborative research projects in the field of tobacco.

Assessing urology and nephrology research activity in Arab countries using ISI web of science bibliometric database

BACKGROUND

Bibliometric analysis is increasingly being used for research assessment. The main objective of this study was to assess research output in Urology and Nephrology subject from the Arab countries. Original scientific articles or reviews published from the 21 Arab countries in "Urology and Nephrology" subject were screened using the ISI Web of Science database. Research productivity was evaluated based on a methodology developed and used in other bibliometric studies by analyzing the annual productivity, names of journals, citations; top 10 active institution and authors as well as country contribution to Urology and Nephrology research.

RESULTS

Three thousand and seventy six documents in "urology and nephrology" subject category were retrieved from 104 journals. This represents 1.4% of the global research output in "urology and nephrology". Four hundred and two documents (12.66%) were published in Annales D Urologie Journal. The h-index of the retrieved documents was 57. The total number of citations, at the time of data analysis, was 30401 with an average citation of 9.57 per document. Egypt, with a total publication of 1284 (40.43%) ranked first among the Arab countries in "urology and nephrology" subject category. Mansoura University in Egypt was the most productive institution with a total of 561 (15.33%) documents. Arab researchers collaborated most with researchers from the United States of America (226; 7.12%) in urology and nephrology research.

CONCLUSION

The present data reveals a good contribution of some Arab countries to the field of "urology and nephrology". More efforts are needed by some other Arab countries to bridge the gap in urology and nephrology research. Overall, the quality of urology/nephrology research is considered relatively high as measured by h-index. Cooperation in urology/nephrology research should be encouraged in the Arab world to bridge the gap with that from developed countries.

Bibliometric analysis of scientific publications on waterpipe (narghile, shisha, hookah) tobacco smoking during the period 2003-2012

BACKGROUND

Waterpipe tobacco smoking has spread worldwide. However, the evaluation of scientific output in the field of waterpipe tobacco smoking has not been studied yet. The main objectives of this study were to analyze worldwide research output in the waterpipe tobacco smoking field, and to examine the authorship pattern and the citations retrieved from the Scopus database for over a decade.

METHODS

Data from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2012 were searched for documents with specific words regarding waterpipe tobacco smoking as "keywords" in the title. Scientific output was evaluated based on a methodology developed and used in other bibliometric studies: (a) total and trends of contributions in waterpipe tobacco smoking research between 2003 and 2012; (b) authorship patterns and research productivity; (c) collaboration patterns; (d) the citations received by the publications; and (e) areas of interest of the published papers.

RESULTS

Worldwide there were 334 publications that met the criteria during the study period. The largest number of publications in waterpipe tobacco smoking were from the United States of America (USA) (33.5%), followed by Lebanon (15.3%), and France (10.5%). The total number of citations at the time of data analysis (October 18, 2013) was 4,352, with an average of 13 citations per document and a median (interquartile range) of 4.0 (1.0-16.0). The h-index of the retrieved documents was 34. The highest h-index by country was 27 for the USA, followed by 20 for Syrian Arab Republic and Lebanon.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data reveal a promising rise and a good start for research activity in the field of waterpipe tobacco smoking. More effort is needed to bridge the gap in waterpipe smoking-based research and to promote better evaluation of waterpipe smoking, risks, health effects, or control services worldwide.

Availability of treatment resources for the management of acute toxic exposures and poisonings in emergency departments among various types of hospitals in Palestine: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Poisoning exposures continue to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The lack of facilities, treatment resources, and antidotes in hospitals may affect the treatments provided and outcomes. This study aimed to determine the availability of gastrointestinal (GI) decontamination, stabilisation, elimination enhancement resources, and antidotes for the management of acute toxic exposures and poisonings in emergency departments (EDs) among various types of governmental and private hospitals in Palestine.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study using semi-structured questionnaire was performed. Data were collected based on hospital resources; GI decontamination, stabilisation, elimination enhancement resources and antidotes from Palestinian hospitals.

RESULTS

Eighteen hospitals (94.7%) have responded. Among them, paracetamol poisoning was the most frequently reported cases by EDs (mean frequency score = 7.6 ± 2.1), followed by bee stings (mean = 6.9 ± 2.7) and organophosphate poisoning (mean = 6.7 ± 2.7). The availabilities of most resources related to GI decontamination items varied substantially with hospital type, but these differences were not statistical significant. The availability of stabilisation resources was not significantly different between hospitals types. For the availability of techniques used to enhance the elimination of toxic substances, there were variations between the hospitals types. However, these differences were not statistical significant, except for haemodialysis (p = 0.003) which was more available in governmental hospitals. For the availability of antidotes, none of the hospitals had sufficient stock of all antidotes listed. In relation to hospital type, there was variability in the availability of antidotes, but this did not reach statistical significance, except for deferoxamine (p < 0.001), which was available in all governmental hospitals but none of the private hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

The availability of treatment resources and antidotes in Palestinian hospitals was not adequate except for stabilisation resources. The availability of such resources acts as a marker for the level of readiness of hospital EDs in Palestine for the management of acute toxic exposure and poisoning. The implementation of a minimum list of antidotes and treatment resources would be useful to increase the level of resources. Coordination between Palestinian poison control and drug information centre and hospitals is also important.

Prevalence of depression among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross sectional study in Palestine

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus is a common chronic metabolic disorder and one of the main causes of death in Palestine. Palestinians are continuously living under stressful economic and military conditions which make them psychologically vulnerable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression among type II diabetic patients and to examine the relationship between depression and socio-demographic factors, clinical factors, and glycemic control.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study at Al-Makhfiah primary healthcare center, Nablus, Palestine. Two hundred and ninety-four patients were surveyed for the presence of depressive symptoms using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) scale. Patients' records were reviewed to obtain data pertaining to age, sex, marital status, Body Mass Index (BMI), level of education, smoking status, duration of diabetes mellitus, glycemic control using HbA1C test, use of insulin, and presence of additional illnesses. Patients' medication adherence was assessed using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8).

RESULTS

One hundred and sixty four patients (55.8%) of the total sample were females and 216 (73.5%) were < 65 years old. One hundred and twenty patients (40.2%) scored ≥ 16 on BDI-II scale. Statistical significant association was found between high BDI-II score (≥ 16) and female gender, low educational level, having no current job, having multiple additional illnesses, low medication adherence and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). No significant association between BDI score and glycemic control, duration of diabetes, and other socio-demographic factors was found. Multivatriate analysis showed that low educational level, having no current job, having multiple additional illnesses and low medication adherence were significantly associated with high BDI-II scores.

CONCLUSION

Prevalence of depression found in our study was higher than that reported in other countries. Although 40% of the screened patients were potential cases of depression, none were being treated with anti-depressants. Psychosocial assessment should be part of routine clinical evaluation of these patients at primary healthcare clinics to improve quality of life and decrease adverse outcomes among diabetic patients.

Influence of patients' disease knowledge and beliefs about medicines on medication adherence: findings from a cross-sectional survey among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Palestine

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common serious health problem. Medication adherence is a key determinant of therapeutic success in patients with diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to assess medication adherence and its potential association with beliefs and diabetes - related knowledge in patients with type II DM.

METHODS

This study was carried out at Al-Makhfia governmental diabetes primary healthcare clinic in Nablus, Palestine. Main outcome of interest in the study was medication adherence. The Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) was used to assess beliefs. Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMSA-8©) was used to assess medication adherence. The Michigan diabetes knowledge test (MDKT) was used to assess diabetes - related knowledge. Univariate and multivariate analysis were carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20).

RESULTS

Four hundred and five patients were interviewed. The mean ± SD age of the participants was 58.3 ± 10.4 (range = 28 - 90) years. More than half (53.3%) of the participants were females. Approximately 42.7% of the study sample were considered non-adherent (MMAS-8© score of < 6). Multivariate analysis showed that the following variables were significantly associated with non-adherence: disease-related knowledge, beliefs about necessity of anti-diabetic medications, concerns about adverse consequences of anti-diabetic medications and beliefs that medicines in general are essentially harmful. Diabetic patients with high knowledge score and those with strong beliefs in the necessity of their anti-diabetic medications were less likely to be non-adherent ([O.R = 0.87, 95% CI of 0.78 - 0.97] and [O.R = 0.93, 95% of 0.88 - 0.99] respectively). However, diabetic patients with high concerns about adverse consequences of anti-diabetic medications and those with high belief that all medicines are harmful were more likely to be non-adherent ([O.R = 1.09; 95% C.I of 1.04 - 1.16] and [O.R = 1.09, 95% C.I of 1.02 - 1.16] respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Beliefs and knowledge are important factors in understanding variations in medication adherence among diabetic patients. The BMQ can be used as a tool to identify people at higher risk of non-adherence. Improving knowledge of patients about their illness might positively influence their medication adherence.

A bibliometric analysis of toxicology research productivity in Middle Eastern Arab countries during a 10-year period (2003-2012)

BACKGROUND

Bibliometric studies are increasingly being used for research assessment by involving the application of statistical methods to scientific publications to obtain the bibliographics for each country. The main objective of this study was to analyse the research productivity originating from 13 Middle Eastern Arab (MEA) countries with articles published in toxicology journals.

METHODS

Data from January 1, 2003 till December 31, 2012 were searched for documents with specific words in the toxicology field as a "source title" in any one of the 13 MEA countries. Research productivity was evaluated based on a methodology developed and used in other bibliometric studies. Research productivity was adjusted to the national population and nominal gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

RESULTS

Documents (n = 1,240) were retrieved from 73 international peer-reviewed toxicology journals. The h-index of the retrieved documents was 39. Of the 73 journal titles, 52 (69.9%) have their IF listed in the ISI Journal Citation Reports 2012; 198 documents (16.0%) were published in journals that had no official IF. After adjusting for economy and population power, Egypt (193.6), Palestine (18.1), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (13.0), and Jordan (11.5) had the highest research productivity. Countries with large economies, such as the Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman, tended to rank relatively low after adjustment of GDP. The total number of citations at the time of data analysis (August 4, 2013) was 10,991, with a median (interquartile range) of 4 (1-11). MEA collaborated more with countries in the MEA regions (16.7%), especially KSA, Egypt, and UAE, followed by Europe (14.4%), especially with the United Kingdom and Germany.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data show a promising rise and a good start for toxicology research activity in toxicology journals in the Arab world. Research output is low in some countries, which can be improved by investing in more international and national collaborative research projects in the field of toxicology.