title: Cardiovascular research publications from Latin America between 1999 and 2008. A bibliometric study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cardiovascular research publications seem to be increasing in Latin America overall.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To analyze trends in cardiovascular publications and their citations from countries in Latin America between 1999 and 2008, and to compare them with those from the rest of the countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrieved references of cardiovascular publications between 1999 and 2008 and their five-year post-publication citations from the Web of Knowledge database. For countries in Latin America, we calculated the total number of publications and their citation indices (total citations divided by number of publications) by year. We analyzed trends on publications and citation indices over time using Poisson regression models. The analysis was repeated for Latin America as a region, and compared with that for the rest of the countries grouped according to economic development.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Brazil (n = 6,132) had the highest number of publications in 1999-2008, followed by Argentina (n = 1,686), Mexico (n = 1,368) and Chile (n = 874). Most countries showed an increase in publications over time, leaded by Guatemala (36.5% annually [95%CI: 16.7%-59.7%]), Colombia (22.1% [16.3%-28.2%]), Costa Rica (18.1% [8.1%-28.9%]) and Brazil (17.9% [16.9%-19.1%]). However, trends on citation indices varied widely (from -33.8% to 28.4%). From 1999 to 2008, cardiovascular publications of Latin America increased by 12.9% (12.1%-13.5%) annually. However, the citation indices of Latin America increased 1.5% (1.3%-1.7%) annually, a lower increase than those of all other country groups analyzed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the number of cardiovascular publications of Latin America increased from 1999 to 2008, trends on citation indices suggest they may have had a relatively low impact on the research field, stressing the importance of considering quality and dissemination on local research policies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Public Health, Birmingham, USA.
authors.forename: Lisandro D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Colantonio
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Abigail S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Baldridge
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Huffman
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, USA.
authors.forename: Gerald S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Bloomfield
authors.affiliation: Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Dorairaj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prabhakaran
mesh_terms: D015706:Bibliometrics; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D002309:Cardiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D007843:Latin America; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D013997:Time Factors