Under-representation of developing countries in the research literature: ethical issues arising from a survey of five leading medical journals

Sumathipala, Athula; Siribaddana, Sisira; Patel, Vikram

doi:10.1186/1472-6939-5-5

Table 1 The contribution of regions to the research literature in five leading journals

From: Under-representation of developing countries in the research literature: ethical issues arising from a survey of five leading medical journals

	BMJ		Lancet		NEJM		JAMA		ANNALS		Total
Editorials	261		350⁴		124		102		39		876
UK	160	61.4%	167	47.7%	10	8.0%	02	1.9%	01	2.4%	340	38.8%
USA	38	14.6%	87	24.9%	97	78.3%	97	95.0%	35	90.0%	354	40.4%
OEAC¹	56	21.4%	89	25.4%	14	11.3%	02	1.9%	03	7.6%	164	18.7%
RoW²	07	2.6%	07	2.0 %	03	2.4%	01	0.9%	00	0.0%	18	2.6%
Original papers	322		307		218		227		115		1189
UK	216	67.0%	66	21.5 %	06	2.7%	04	1.8%	03	2.6%	295	24.8%
USA	22	7.0%	38	12.4%	107	49.1%	173	76.2%	81	70.4%	421	35.4%
OEAC	76	23.6%	136	44.3 %	78	35.8%	42	18.5%	23	20.0%	355	29.9%
RoW	08	2.4%	67	21.8%	27	12.4%	08	3.5%	08	7.0%	118	9.9%
Correspondence	1118		1043⁵		894		605		251		3911
UK	829	74%	374	35.8%	30	3.4%	13	2.1%	04	1.6%	1250	32%
USA	69	6%	141	13.5%	601	67.2%	506	83.6%	183	72.9%	1500	38.4%
OEAC	174	16%	400	38.3%	212	23.7%	71	11.7%	49	19.5%	906	23.2%
RoW	46	4%	128	12.2%	51	5.7%	15	2.5%	15	6.0%	255	6.5%
Review articles	286		50		65		36		66		503
UK	195	68.2%	17	34%	04	6.2%	01	2.7%	01	1.6%	218	43.3%
USA	29	10.2%	15	30%	48	73.8%	28	78.0%	61	92.4%	181	36%
OEAC	54	18.8%	14	28%	13	20.0%	04	11.1%	04	6.0%	89	17.7%
RoW	08	2.8%	04	08%	00	0.0%	03	8.2%	00	0.0%	15	3%
Others³	47		208		149		145		27		576
UK	31	66.0%	68	32.8%	03	02.0%	00	00.0%	00	00.0%	102	17.7%
USA	08	17.0%	34	16.3%	118	79.3%	120	82.7%	25	92.6%	305	53%
OEAC	04	8.5%	78	37.5%	22	14.7 %	16	11.0%	01	3.7%	121	21%
RoW	04	8.5%	28	13.4%	06	4.0%	09	6.2%	01	3.7%	48	8.3%
Global total	2034		1958		1450		1115		498		7055
RoW total	73	3.6%	234	12%	87	6%	36	3.2%	24	4.8%	454	6.4 %

1. OEAC (Other Euro-American countries), OEAC were European countries other than the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
2. RoW comprised all other countries (i.e. all countries in Eastern Europe, Central and South America, Asia and Africa)
3. Others include: for The Lancet: case reports, view points, public letters, essays, public health, violence in health, department of medical history, the world, world ideas, health and human rights, development of ethics, eponymous, clinical picture, reportage, adverse drug reactions, personal papers, medicine and law, personal papers; for the JAMA: Patients relationships, grand rounds, clinical cross roads, rational clinical examinations, medicine and media, commentary, updates, letters from counters, public opinion and health, medical literature, health law and ethics, clinical cross roads; for the NEJM: images, clinical problem solving, case records from Massachusetts general hospital, clinical implications of basic research, sounding board, clinical problem solving, special articles, for the BMJ: drug point, practice and results, quality of life, history, practice point, lessons of every week; for the Annals: past present and future, time and medicine, social means of medicine, technology of time, personal time, media and publication, NIH conference, in the balance, abroad.
4. The Lancet had 52 editorials and 298 commentaries. Editorials were written in house.
5. The Lancet had 262 research letters. We did not include these either in the correspondence or with the Original papers category. Other journals did not have such a category to compare.

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ISSN: 1472-6939

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