Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Worldwide geographical distribution of ophthalmology publications

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Ophthalmology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

International peer-reviewed publications form the basis of evidence-based medicine and are one of the main indicators of ophthalmology research activity. This paper examines the origins of such articles in relation to geographical location, population demographics and economic research profiles. Publications from five ophthalmology journals over 5 years were analysed using the Medline/Pubmed search engine. Country of origin was ascertained based on the address of the corresponding author. Worldwide ophthalmology research output was analysed in relation to population demographics and research expenditure. In total, 7,754 articles from 67 countries from 2002 to 2006 were analysed. The overall number of articles published increased by over 29% during this period. The United States (US) produced the greatest number of articles. Singapore produced the most publications per 106 population. There was a relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) greater than $20,000 and population-adjusted output. The US followed by the United Kingdom and Japan were the greatest gross contributors. Population-adjusted figures revealed that Singapore, Iceland and Australia were the most prolific nations. There was a relationship between GDP and the top-ranked population-adjusted countries. The top 10 most productive population-adjusted countries spend relatively more on research and development than the top 10 gross contributors.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. ISI Web of Knowledge http://isiwebofknowledge.com/

  2. Central Intelligence agency The World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html

  3. United Nations Organisation for Education Science and Culture (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics database http://172.30.252.10:1812/servlet/com.trend.iwss.user.servlet.sendfile?downloadfile=LgIRE15135-280907008-288-document.aspx

  4. King DA (2004) The scientific impact of nations. What different countries get for their research spending. Nature 430:311–316. doi:10.1038/430311a

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Van Rossum M, Bosker BH, Pierik EGJM, Verheyen CCPM (2007) Geographic origin of publications in surgical journals. Br J Surg 94:244–247. doi:10.1002/bjs.5571

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Boldt J, Maleck W, Koettner KP (1999) Which countries publish in important anesthesia and critical care journals? Anesth Analg 88(5):1175–1180. doi:10.1097/00000539-199905000-00038

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Rippon I, Lewison G, Partridge MR (2005) Research outputs in respiratory medicine. Thorax 60(1):63–67. doi:10.1136/thx.2004.031229

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Davis M, Wilson CS (2003) Research contributions in ophthalmology: Australia’s productivity. Clin Exp Ophthalmol 31(4):286–293. doi:10.1046/j.1442-9071.2003.00663.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Pon JA, Carroll SC, McGhee CN (2004) Analysis of New Zealand’s research productivity in ophthalmology and vision science: 1993–2002. Clin Exp Ophthalmol 32(6):607–613. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9071.2004.00934.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Mandal K, Adams W, Fraser S (2004) The contribution to ophthalmic literature from different regions of the world. Int Ophthalmol 25(3):181–184. doi:10.1007/s10792-004-1959-y

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Rahman M, Fukui T (2003) Biomedical publication-global profile and trend. Public Health 117(4):274–280. doi:10.1016/S0033-3506(03)00068-4

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Man JP, Weinauf JG, Tsang M, Sin DD (2004) Why do some countries publish more than others? An international comparison of research funding, English proficiency and publication output in highly ranked medical journals. Eur J Epidemiol 19(8):811–817. doi:10.1023/B:EJEP.0000036571.00320.b8

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Drs. Thomas Crotty and Barry Maguire for their contributions to this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

    Marc B. Guerin, Janice Brady & Colm J. O’ Brien

  2. Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK

    Thomas H. Flynn

Authors
  1. Marc B. Guerin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thomas H. Flynn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Janice Brady
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Colm J. O’ Brien
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marc B. Guerin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Guerin, M.B., Flynn, T.H., Brady, J. et al. Worldwide geographical distribution of ophthalmology publications. Int Ophthalmol 29, 511–516 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-008-9278-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-008-9278-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation