Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38657984›Full record

ArticleSaudi medical journal2024

Mapping the landscape of medical research in the Arab world countries: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis.

Shadan Almuhaidib, Rawan Alqahtani, Haifa F Alotaibi, Asma Saeed, Sahar Alnasrallah, Fayez Alshamsi, Saleh A Alqahtani, Waleed Alhazzani

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Saudi medical journal, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Barriers to liver transplantation in the Arab world.World journal of transplantation · 2025
    Review
  11. A bibliometric analysis of a decade's research on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in the Arab world.Saudi journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Saudi Gastroenterology Association · 2025
    Article
  12. A bibliometric analysis of inflammatory bowel disease research in the Arab world.Saudi journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Saudi Gastroenterology Association · 2025
    Article
  13. Rheumatology research in Arab countries.Saudi medical journal · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Shadan AlmuhaidibFrom the Scientific Research Center (Almuhaidib, Alotaibi, Saeed, Alnasrallah, Alhazzani), Ministry of Defense Health Services, from the Department of Business Intelligence and Information Management (Alqahtani), Rumah General Hospital, Riyadh Second Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, from the Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence (Alqahtani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, from the Department of Critical Care (Alhazzani), College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from the Department of Internal Medicine (Alshamsi), College of Medicine and Health Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Alqahtani), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America, and from the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (Alhazzani), McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Rawan AlqahtaniFrom the Scientific Research Center (Almuhaidib, Alotaibi, Saeed, Alnasrallah, Alhazzani), Ministry of Defense Health Services, from the Department of Business Intelligence and Information Management (Alqahtani), Rumah General Hospital, Riyadh Second Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, from the Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence (Alqahtani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, from the Department of Critical Care (Alhazzani), College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from the Department of Internal Medicine (Alshamsi), College of Medicine and Health Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Alqahtani), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America, and from the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (Alhazzani), McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Haifa F AlotaibiFrom the Scientific Research Center (Almuhaidib, Alotaibi, Saeed, Alnasrallah, Alhazzani), Ministry of Defense Health Services, from the Department of Business Intelligence and Information Management (Alqahtani), Rumah General Hospital, Riyadh Second Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, from the Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence (Alqahtani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, from the Department of Critical Care (Alhazzani), College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from the Department of Internal Medicine (Alshamsi), College of Medicine and Health Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Alqahtani), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America, and from the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (Alhazzani), McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Asma SaeedFrom the Scientific Research Center (Almuhaidib, Alotaibi, Saeed, Alnasrallah, Alhazzani), Ministry of Defense Health Services, from the Department of Business Intelligence and Information Management (Alqahtani), Rumah General Hospital, Riyadh Second Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, from the Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence (Alqahtani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, from the Department of Critical Care (Alhazzani), College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from the Department of Internal Medicine (Alshamsi), College of Medicine and Health Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Alqahtani), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America, and from the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (Alhazzani), McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Sahar AlnasrallahFrom the Scientific Research Center (Almuhaidib, Alotaibi, Saeed, Alnasrallah, Alhazzani), Ministry of Defense Health Services, from the Department of Business Intelligence and Information Management (Alqahtani), Rumah General Hospital, Riyadh Second Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, from the Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence (Alqahtani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, from the Department of Critical Care (Alhazzani), College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from the Department of Internal Medicine (Alshamsi), College of Medicine and Health Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Alqahtani), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America, and from the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (Alhazzani), McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Fayez AlshamsiFrom the Scientific Research Center (Almuhaidib, Alotaibi, Saeed, Alnasrallah, Alhazzani), Ministry of Defense Health Services, from the Department of Business Intelligence and Information Management (Alqahtani), Rumah General Hospital, Riyadh Second Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, from the Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence (Alqahtani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, from the Department of Critical Care (Alhazzani), College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from the Department of Internal Medicine (Alshamsi), College of Medicine and Health Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Alqahtani), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America, and from the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (Alhazzani), McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Saleh A AlqahtaniFrom the Scientific Research Center (Almuhaidib, Alotaibi, Saeed, Alnasrallah, Alhazzani), Ministry of Defense Health Services, from the Department of Business Intelligence and Information Management (Alqahtani), Rumah General Hospital, Riyadh Second Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, from the Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence (Alqahtani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, from the Department of Critical Care (Alhazzani), College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from the Department of Internal Medicine (Alshamsi), College of Medicine and Health Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Alqahtani), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America, and from the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (Alhazzani), McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Waleed AlhazzaniFrom the Scientific Research Center (Almuhaidib, Alotaibi, Saeed, Alnasrallah, Alhazzani), Ministry of Defense Health Services, from the Department of Business Intelligence and Information Management (Alqahtani), Rumah General Hospital, Riyadh Second Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, from the Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence (Alqahtani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, from the Department of Critical Care (Alhazzani), College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from the Department of Internal Medicine (Alshamsi), College of Medicine and Health Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Alqahtani), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America, and from the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (Alhazzani), McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8076-9626

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo describe the productivity, performance, and impact of medical research in the Arab world countries.

methodsWe carried out a bibliometric analysis using Clarivate Analytics databases from January 2017 to March 2023. We reported research productivity, national and international research collaboration patterns, impact of Arab medical research output compared to the global average, top medical journals publishing Arab-affiliated research, and performance of the most productive Arab institutions.

resultsThe Arab world contributed 2.72% to global medical research publication, with a citation impact of 11.98 compared to the global impact of 12.02. Qatar, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia led medical research publications per million population among Arab countries, ranking 26th, 36th, and 37th globally. Medical research publications increased by 87% annually from 2017-2022, with 70% of research originating from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. National collaborations accounted for 15% of Arab world publications, while international collaborations represented 66%. The median impact factor across the top 20 medical journals with Arab-affiliated authors was 5.14, with 50% being quartile one journals. The top 10 Arab-origin medical journals had a median impact factor of 3.13. Approximately 80% of the top 20 Arab institutions were academic, with a median publication count of 3,162.5 and a median citation impact of 14.5.

conclusionThe study provides insights into the state of medical research in the Arab countries, indicating room for improvement in the region's medical research.

Indexed as

Arab WorldBibliometricsBiomedical ResearchHumansInternational CooperationJournal Impact FactorPeriodicals as TopicPublishingQatarSaudi ArabiaArabsArab Worldbibliometricsbiomedical researchpublications

Identifiers

PMID38657984
PMCPMC11147579

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.