Growing Trend of China's Contribution to the Field of Rheumatology 2000-2009: A Survey of Chinese Rheumatology Research

Objective. In the past decade, rheumatology in China has achieved great advances. However, scientific publications on rheumatology in the 3 major regions of China - Mainland (ML), Hong Kong (HK), and Taiwan (TW) - are unknown. We assessed the performance of rheumatology research in China from 2000 to 2009. Methods. Twenty-two journals included in the rheumatology category of the Journal Citation Reports database were selected. We analyzed the following measures for 2000-2009: (1) total number of articles originating from ML, HK, and TW; (2) impact factor (IF) of those articles; (3) total number of citations and average number of citations per article; and (4) number of articles about clinical trials, randomized controlled trials (RCT), and case reports. We also noted the total number of articles from the 3 regions published in 10 top-ranking journals. Results. There were 788 articles for the 3 regions of China, including 259 from ML, 372 from TW, and 157 from HK, with a positive trend between the years 2000 to 2009. From 2006 on, published articles from ML exceeded those from HK, and in 2008, published articles from ML exceeded those from TW. HK had the highest average IF and highest average citations of each article compared with articles from ML and TW. TW published the most RCT, clinical trials, and case reports, as well as the most articles in the 10 top-ranking journals in the last decade, followed by ML and HK. Conclusion. Chinese contributions to the field of rheumatology have increased rapidly since 2000, particularly from ML. HK had the highest quality research output according to average IF and average citations per article. (First Release September 1 2010; J Rheumatol 2010;37:2390-4; doi:10.3899/jrheum.100524)