Where art thou diabetic foot disease literature? A bibliometric inquiry into publication patterns

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Top-Cited Articles on Diabetic Foot Ulcers

The aim of this study was to determine the top-cited articles in the field of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) research. A cross-sectional bibliometric analysis was conducted in January 2021 by using Boolean search terms in the Scopus and the Web of Science databases. The 50 top-cited articles that met the inclusion criteria were ranked and evaluated for several characteristics, including year of publication, country of origin, authorship, publishing journal, topic categories, publishing type, and level of evidence. The median number of citations per article in the list was 442 (interquartile range [IQR], 320-520), with a median of 21.8 citations (IQR, 16.5-34.5) per year since publication. The publication years ranged from 1986 to 2017, with 1998 accounting for the greatest number of studies (n = 7). The citation classics were published in 20 journals and originated from institutions in 9 countries. The majority of the studies were clinical, of which expert opinion/review with Level V evidence and clinical studies with Levels I and II evidence comprised the greater proportion in the list. This study provides useful insights into the history and development of DFU research. The top-cited list may serve as a quick reference for education curriculums and clinical practice, in addition to providing a foundation for further studies on this topic.

Analysis of global research output on diabetes depression and suicide

BACKGROUND

Diabetic patients, during the course of the disease, are most likely to experience depressive symptoms that might ultimately lead to suicidal ideation or suicide. The size of literature in diabetes depression/suicide is a good indicator of national and international efforts to address psychological co-morbidities associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). Therefore, the objective of this study was to give a comprehensive analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, of scientific literature in diabetes depression/suicide.

METHODS

SciVerse Scopus was used to retrieve relevant literature up to 2016.

RESULTS

In total, 1664 journal documents were retrieved with an average of 26.9 citations per article and an h-index of 98. Publications started in 1949 but showed a steep and noticeable increase after 2001. Retrieved articles were published in 641 different journals with Diabetes Care journal being the top productive one with a total of 130 (7.8%) articles. Researchers from 83 different countries participated in retrieved publications. Researchers from the United States of America participated in publishing 685 articles. There was a strong and positive correlation between research output and Gross Domestic Product (r = 0.083; p < 0.001) but not with prevalence or mortality caused by DM. Researchers from 4870 different institutions/organizations participated in publishing retrieved articles. Publications from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA had the highest h-index (38), while "VA medical centers" had the highest number of publications (75; 4.5%). In total, 5715 authors appeared in retrieved articles giving an average of 3.4 authors per article. Top cited articles focused on prevalence, impact of depression on glycemic control, and potential risk of diabetic complications. The total number of publications in depression/suicide in diabetic patients was lesser than that in cardiac (1938) or in cancer (1828) patients. However, publications in diabetes depression/suicide exceeded those in cardiac and cancer in the last 2 years of the study period.

CONCLUSION

The current study showed a noticeable growth of publications indicative of the importance of this topic. Research focusing on the psychiatric component of diabetes mellitus needs to be strengthened and encouraged. At the practical level, screening for depression/suicide among patients attending primary healthcare clinics is needed to optimize health and quality of life of diabetic patients.