الملخص الإنجليزي
Objectives: 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. Methods:
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. Results: 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). Conclusion: 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
