Abstract
Objective
The objective of this paper is to study the distribution regularity, development tendency and research hot spots of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) literature published in journals indexed in PubMed over a 10-year period using the bibliometric analysis method.
Methods
Citations from 2002 to 2011 were downloaded from the PubMed database. The core of the search was the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) “Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic.” The period of study was set from 2002 to 2011.
Results
A total of 14,053 articles were retrieved. These articles were published in 1627 different journals, nine journals contributing to one-third of all the literature. The first three journals containing the most articles were Lupus, Arthritis Rheum and J Rheumatol. America was the most productive world area followed by Japan, China and the United Kingdom. When normalized by population, Israel, Monaco and Iceland ranked as the top three. When normalized by GDP, Israel, Tunisia and Serbia were in leading positions. The steady increase of publication in SLE research can be seen during the whole study period from 2002 to 2011.
Conclusion
SLE has become a field of interest over the period 2002 to 2011. However, lupus research publications in developing countries have lagged behind.
Keywords
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