title: The wealth of nations and the dissemination of cardiovascular research.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed at understanding whether investigators from less wealthy countries were at a disadvantage in disseminating their research, after accounting for potential differences in research quality and infrastructure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this bibliometric analysis a representative random selection of 10% (n=1002 studies) of all abstracts submitted to the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress 2006 was followed for publication and citation from September 2006 to December 2011. The main variable of interest was the per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) of the country of the principal investigator. Using multivariable models that adjusted for socioeconomic indicators and previously identified markers of research quality, we examined the relationship between per-capita GDP and three study endpoints: Acceptance at the ESC congress, full-text publication, and number of two-year citations. Among 1002 abstracts from 63 countries, per-capita GDP was positively correlated with all three study endpoints. After adjusting for markers of research quality and infrastructure, per-capita GDP remained a strong predictor for acceptance at the ESC congress (adjusted OR for every 10,000 USD increase in per-capita GDP, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.80), full-text publication within 5years (adjusted OR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.17 to 1.90), and high citation frequency (adjusted OR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.31 to 4.04). These findings were largely consistent in a subgroup of abstracts of high-quality, prospective clinical trials.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Investigators in less wealthy countries face challenges to disseminate their research, even after accounting for potential differences in the quality of their work and research infrastructure.
authors.affiliation: University Heart Center, Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Medicine, GZO Spital Wetzikon, Switzerland. Electronic address: s.winnik@me.com.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Winnik
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Speer
authors.forename: Dimitri A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Raptis
authors.forename: Janina H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasun
authors.forename: Pierre-Alain
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Clavien
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Komajda
authors.forename: Jeroen J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bax
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tendera
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: Frans
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Van de Werf
authors.forename: Ciara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mundow
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Lüscher
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ruschitzka
authors.forename: Brahmajee K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Nallamothu
authors.forename: Christian M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Matter
mesh_terms: D015706:Bibliometrics; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D014943:Global Health / Q000191:economics*; D059066:Gross Domestic Product; D006801:Humans; D014480:United Nations / Q000191:economics
keywords: Bibliometrics; Cardiology; Congresses; Economics; Science