Cardiovascular disease research in Saudi Arabia: a bibliometric analysis

In the previous three decades, in Saudi Arabia, prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has increased and the government has invested significantly in education, healthcare, and research. This study examined the research productivity trends and characterized the types and focus of the all CVD research studies from Saudi Arabia. Data were extracted from studies published up until December 2015 and indexed in the PubMed database. Study eligibility criteria included: (1) sample selected within Saudi Arabia, and (2) CVD or a risk factor for CVD as an outcome, or (3) patients with CVD as study participants. Bibliometric data and study characteristics were extracted from each study; examples include authorship (number, gender, affiliation), journal, publication year, study location, research design, sample size, sample type (general or patient), sample composition (male or female), and sampling strategy (random or non-random). Analysis included 295 studies that pertained to 19 types of CVD; the most common were coronary artery disease (18%), hypertension (16%), stroke (14%), peripheral artery disease (11%), and congenital heart disease (10%). In the past 30 years, the overall productivity, use of a hypothesis-testing design (i.e. case–control, cohort, or trial), international collaborations, and funding increased incrementally. The experimental design constituted only 3% of all studies and less than 10% of the hypothesis-testing design studies. The scientific literature from Saudi Arabia addressed many of the CVD types. However, there were very few experimental studies conducted to date. Funding agencies should consider patronizing more studies with a hypothesis-testing design.