Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

LIVE: Thursday 2nd May 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

Quality sleep is essential for health. But what happens to our brains when sleep patterns are disturbed? Join our experts to explore the interplay between sleep disruption and neurological diseases, and the questions that you need to be asking your patients to help you prevent the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
Published in: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 1/2014

Open Access 01-12-2014 | Research

Substance use disorders in Arab countries: research activity and bibliometric analysis

Authors: Waleed M Sweileh, Sa’ed H Zyoud, Samah W Al-Jabi, Ansam F Sawalha

Published in: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy | Issue 1/2014

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Substance use disorders, which include substance abuse and substance dependence, are present in all regions of the world including Middle Eastern Arab countries. Bibliometric analysis is an increasingly used tool for research assessment. The main objective of this study was to assess research productivity in the field of substance use disorders in Arab countries using bibliometric indicators.

Methodology

Original or review research articles authored or co-authored by investigators from Arab countries about substance use disorders during the period 1900 – 2013 were retrieved using the ISI Web of Science database. Research activity was assessed by analyzing the annual research productivity, contribution of each Arab country, names of journals, citations, and types of abused substances.

Results

Four hundred and thirteen documents in substance use disorders were retrieved. Annual research productivity was low but showed a significant increase in the last few years. In terms of quantity, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (83 documents) ranked first in research about substance use disorders while Lebanon (17.4 documents per million) ranked first in terms of number of documents published per million inhabitants. Retrieved documents were found in different journal titles and categories, mostly in Drug and Alcohol Dependence Journal. Authors from USA appeared in 117 documents published by investigators from Arab countries. Citation analysis of retrieved documents showed that the average citation per document was 10.76 and the h - index was 35. The majority of retrieved documents were about tobacco and smoking (175 documents) field while alcohol consumption and abuse research was the least with 69 documents.

Conclusion

The results obtained suggest that research in this field was largely neglected in the past. However, recent research interest was observed. Research output on tobacco and smoking was relatively high compared to other substances of abuse like illicit drugs and medicinal agents. Governmental funding for academics and mental health graduate programs to do research in the field of substance use disorders is highly recommended.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Association AP: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM 5: bookpointUS. 2013
2.
WHO: World Health Organization. “ATLAS on substance use (2010): resources for the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders.”. 2010,http://​www.​who.​int,
3.
4.
Kronfol N: Historical development of health professions’ education in the Arab world. EMHJ. 2012, 18 (11): 1157-1165.
5.
Kronfol N: Historical development of health systems in the Arab countries: a review. EMHJ. 2012, 18 (11): 1151-1156.
6.
Kronfol N: Delivery of health services in Arab countries: a review. EMHJ. 2012, 18 (12): 1229-1238.
7.
UNODC: UNODC and League of Arab States launch US $ 100 million five-year regional programme. World Drug Report. 2010
8.
Wallin JA: Bibliometric methods: pitfalls and possibilities. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2005, 97 (5): 261-275.CrossRefPubMed
9.
De Battisti F, Salini S: Robust analysis of bibliometric data. Stat Methods Appl. 2013, 22 (2): 269-283.CrossRef
10.
Bramness JG, Henriksen B, Person O, Mann K: A Bibliometric Analysis of European versus USA Research in the Field of Addiction. Research on Alcohol, Narcotics, Prescription Drug Abuse, Tobacco and Steroids 2001–2011. Eur Addict Res. 2014, 20 (1): 16-22.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Hofman K, Ryce A, Prudhomme W, Kotzin S: Reporting of non-communicable disease research in low- and middle-income countries: a pilot bibliometric analysis. J Med Libr Assoc. 2006, 94 (4): 415-420.PubMedCentralPubMed
12.
Huber JT, Gullion JS: Complementary and alternative medicine as represented in the HIV/AIDS body of knowledge: a bibliometric analysis. Med Ref Serv Q. 2003, 22 (3): 23-32.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Rashidi A, Rahimi B, Delirrad M: Bibliometric analysis of parasitological research in iran and Turkey: a comparative study. Iran J Parasitol. 2013, 8 (2): 313-322.PubMedCentralPubMed
14.
15.
Tadmouri GO, Bissar-Tadmouri N: A major pitfall in the search strategy on PubMed. Saudi Med J. 2004, 25 (1): 7-10.PubMed
16.
Falagas ME, Pitsouni EI, Malietzis GA, Pappas G: Comparison of PubMed, Scopus, web of science, and Google scholar: strengths and weaknesses. FASEB J. 2008, 22 (2): 338-342.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Kulkarni AV, Aziz B, Shams I, Busse JW: Comparisons of citations in web of science, scopus, and google scholar for articles published in general medical journals. JAMA. 2009, 302 (10): 1092-1096.CrossRefPubMed
18.
de Granda-Orive JI, Alonso-Arroyo A, Roig-Vazquez F: Which data base should we use for our literature analysis? Web of Science versus SCOPUS. Arch Bronconeumol. 2011, 47 (4): 213-CrossRefPubMed
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Jaalouk D, Okasha A, Salamoun MM, Karam EG: Mental health research in the Arab world. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2012, 47 (11): 1727-1731.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Hankir A, Sadiq A: Lessons from Psychiatry in the Arab World-A Lebanese Trainee Psychiatrist’s Qualitative Views on the Provision of Mental Healthcare Services for Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon and an Interview with a Consultant Psychiatrist on the Effects of the Arab Spring on the Mental Health of Libyans. Psychiatr Danub. 2013, 25: 345-349.
25.
Whiteford HA, Degenhardt L, Rehm J, Baxter AJ, Ferrari AJ, Erskine HE, Charlson FJ, Norman RE, Flaxman AD, Johns N: Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2013, 382 (9904): 1575-1586.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Mokdad AH, Jaber S, Aziz MIA, AlBuhairan F, AlGhaithi A, AlHamad NM, Al-Hooti SN, Al-Jasari A, AlMazroa MA, AlQasmi AM: The state of health in the Arab world, 1990–2010: an analysis of the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. Lancet. 2014, 383 (9914): 309-320.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Rahim HFA, Sibai A, Khader Y, Hwalla N, Fadhil I, Alsiyabi H, Mataria A, Mendis S, Mokdad AH, Husseini A: Non-communicable diseases in the Arab world. Lancet. 2014, 383 (9914): 356-367.CrossRefPubMed
28.
Cheikh IB, Rousseau C, Mekki-Berrada A: Suicide as protest against social suffering in the Arab world. Br J Psychiatry. 2011, 198 (6): 494-495.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Fawzui MM: Some medicolegal aspects concerning tramadol abuse: The new Middle East youth plague 2010. An Egyptian overview. Egypt J Forensic Sci. 2011, 1 (2): 99-102.CrossRef
30.
Bassiony M: Substance use disorders in Saudi Arabia: review article. Journal of Substance Use. 2013, 18 (6): 450-466.CrossRef
31.
Al Gaferi H, Osman OT, Matheson C, Wanigaratne S, Bond C: Substance misuse in Arabic countries: the need for published research. Int J Prev Treat Subst Use Disord. 2013, 1 (1): 7-11.CrossRef
32.
Said AM, Okasha A, Okasha T, Haroon A, Fikry M: Quality of Life and Personality Dimensions in Egyptian Substance Dependence Patients. Addict Disord Treat. 2012, 11 (1): 36-42.CrossRef
33.
Rashid S, Copello A, Birchwood M: Muslim faith healers’ views on substance misuse and psychosis. Mental Health Religion Culture. 2012, 15 (6): 653-673.CrossRef
34.
Okasha A: Mental health in the Middle East: an Egyptian perspective. Clin Psychol Rev. 1999, 19 (8): 917-933.CrossRefPubMed
35.
AlMarri TS, Oei TP: Alcohol and Substance use in the Arabian Gulf region: A review. Int J Psychol. 2009, 44 (3): 222-233.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Salamoun MM, Karam AK, Okasha AT, Attasai L, Mneimneh ZM, Karam EG: Epidemiologic assessment of substance use in the Arab world. Arab J Psychiatry. 2008, 19 (2): 100-125.
37.
Sweileh WM, Zyoud SH, Al-Jabi SW, Sawalha AF: Bibliometric analysis of diabetes mellitus research output from Middle Eastern Arab countries during the period (1996–2012). Scientometrics. 2014, 1: 14-
38.
Sweileh WM, Zyoud SH, Al-Jabi SW, Sawalha AF: Assessing urology and nephrology research activity in Arab countries using ISI web of science bibliometric database. BMC Res Notes. 2014, 7 (1): 258-PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
39.
Zyoud SH, Al-Jabi SW, Sweileh WM, Awang R: A Scopus-based examination of tobacco use publications in Middle Eastern Arab countries during the period 2003–2012. Harm Reduction J. 2014, 11 (1): 14-CrossRef
40.
Elkoussi A, Bakheet S: Volatile substance misuse among street children in Upper Egypt. Subst Use Misuse. 2011, 46 (s1): 35-39.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Odenwald M, Neuner F, Schauer M, Elbert T, Catani C, Lingenfelder B, Hinkel H, Häfner H, Rockstroh B: Khat use as risk factor for psychotic disorders: a cross-sectional and case–control study in Somalia. BMC Med. 2005, 3 (1): 5-PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
42.
Odenwald M: Chronic khat use and psychotic disorders: a review of the literature and future prospects. SUCHT-Zeitschrift für Wissenschaft und Praxis/J Addict Res Pract. 2007, 53 (1): 9-22.CrossRef
43.
Karam EG, Maalouf WE, Ghandour LA: Alcohol use among university students in Lebanon: prevalence, trends and covariates: The IDRAC University Substance Use Monitoring Study (1991 and 1999). Drug Alcohol Depend. 2004, 76 (3): 273-286.CrossRefPubMed
44.
WHO: Questionnaire for Regional Situation Analysis on Drug Abuse 2003. 2003, Office for the Eastern Mediterranean: World Health Organization, Cairo, WHO
Metadata
Title
Substance use disorders in Arab countries: research activity and bibliometric analysis
Authors
Waleed M Sweileh
Sa’ed H Zyoud
Samah W Al-Jabi
Ansam F Sawalha
Publication date
01-12-2014
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy / Issue 1/2014
Electronic ISSN: 1747-597X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1747-597X-9-33

Other articles of this Issue 1/2014

Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 1/2014 Go to the issue

Research

A qualitative exploration of attitudes towards alcohol, and the role of parents and peers of two alcohol-attitude-based segments of the adolescent population

Research

Using response-time latencies to measure athletes’ doping attitudes: the brief implicit attitude test identifies substance abuse in bodybuilders

Research

Prevalence and predictors of problematic alcohol use, risky sexual practices and other negative consequences associated with alcohol use among safety and security employees in the Western Cape, South Africa

Short Report

Harms of prescription opioid use in the United States

Research

Factors associated with one year retention to methadone maintenance treatment program among patients with heroin dependence in China

Research

Gender differences in subjective discontinuation symptoms associated with ketamine use