Diabetic Foot Disease Research in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A bibliometric analysis

Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have some of the highest prevalence rates of diabetes mellitus (DM) in the world; however, DM-related research activity in this region is limited. This study aimed to examine trends in published diabetic foot disease (DFD) research undertaken in GCC countries.

This bibliometric study was conducted in December 2016. Standardised criteria were used to search the MEDLINE^® database (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, USA) for DFD-related publications authored by GCC researchers between January 1990 and December 2015. Various details such as the type of publication, journal impact factor and number of article citations were analysed.

A total of 96 research articles were identified. The number of publications per year significantly increased from nil prior to 1991 to 15 in 2015 (P <0.01). Basic/clinical research articles accounted for 96.9% of publications, with three randomised controlled trials and no systematic reviews/meta-analyses. When adjusted for population size, Kuwait had the highest number of published papers per year, followed by Bahrain and Qatar. The number of authors per publication significantly increased during the study period (P = 0.02). However, 16 articles (16.7%) had no citations. The median journal impact factor was 0.15 ± 1.19 (range: 0-6.04).

The number of publications authored by GCC researchers has risen in recent years. Increasing research funding and promoting collaboration between local and international researchers and institutes are recommended to bolster research regarding DFD prevention and management in GCC countries.