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Bibliometric characteristics of highly cited publications from the Indian Journal of Medical Research
For correspondence: Dr Albina Arjuman, Scientist, Indian Council of Medical Research, Ansari Nagar 110 029, New Delhi, India e-mail: albinaijmr2013@gmail.com; albinaarjuman@hotmail.com; albina.nair@icmr.gov.in
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Received: ,
Accepted: ,
How to cite this article: Vaishya R, Gupta BM, M CS, Vaish A, Arjuman A. Bibliometric characteristics of highly cited publications from the Indian Journal of Medical Research. Indian J Med Res. 2026;163:819-28. doi: 10.25259/IJMR_3273_2025
Abstract
Background and objectives
Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR), established in 1913, is a cornerstone of Indian biomedical scholarship. This bibliometric study evaluated the highly cited publications (HCPs; ≥100 citations) to describe their profiles (themes and institutions).
Methods
From 14,834 Scopus-indexed records (1945–2024), 187 HCPs (1957–2022) were analysed using MS Excel and VOSviewer for citation trends, co-authorship networks (country, organisation, author), co-word analysis, and subject mapping across domains. Metrics included total citations (TC), citations per paper (CPP), and total link strength (TLS).
Results
Highly cited publications amassed 33,830 citations (average CPP: 180.9), with a predominance of review articles (58.3%; CPP: 197.6). Temporal peaks occurred in 2004–2015, stabilising post-2016. Communicable diseases led thematically (e.g., bacterial infections: 33 papers, 5,478 TC; virology: 23 papers, 3,432 TC), followed by non-communicable foci like diabetes (21 papers). India dominated (148 papers; >70%), with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-New Delhi (23 papers; CPP: 181.5) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (15 papers; CPP: 216.7) as hubs in a 12-cluster network (472 links; TLS: 447). International collaborations were limited (12.8%; CPP: 155.1), and so were external (national and international) funding (5.9%). Author networks emerging from the HCPS (5 clusters; 165 links; TLS: 170) centered on ICMR–AIIMS synergies; keywords clustered around metabolic (‘diabetes mellitus’: 17 occurrences) and infectious motifs.
Interpretation and conclusions
The findings of this analysis suggests that the IJMR reflects India’s strengths in biomedical research, with a focus on review-based research and topics addressing the country’s disease burden thus far. However, stronger national and international collaborations, along with improved research funding, are needed to enhance the global impact of its published research.
Keywords
Bibliometric analysis
Biomedical collaboration
Communicable diseases
Highly cited publications
Indian Journal of Medical Research
Non-communicable diseases
Bibliometric analyses have become essential in biomedical research for elucidating patterns of scientific productivity, collaboration, and knowledge dissemination, thereby guiding funding priorities and policy formulation in resource-diverse settings.1 Launched in 1913 by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR) has been instrumental in documenting India’s biomedical advancements, spanning infectious diseases, non-communicable conditions, and public health challenges amid epidemiological transitions.2,3
Highly cited publications (HCPs), typically those accruing substantial citations, signify paradigm-shifting contributions that influence clinical practice and future investigations, especially in low- and middle-income countries where inequities in visibility persist.4,5 Despite increasing Indian research output, bibliometric inquiries have largely been overlooked by Indian Journals in general. A lack of bibliometric evidence delineating the citation trajectories, collaborative ecosystems, and thematic evolutions of indigenous scholarship is probably a reason for the lack of motivation for Indian researchers to consider International venues as more preferred avenues for their research.6-9 Information pertaining to institutional and authorial networks, funding influences, and interdisciplinary synergies are also useful in understanding global integration and innovation amplification9,10 which can otherwise limit a policymakers’ ability to bolster equitable research ecosystems
This study undertook to address these gaps through a scientometric examination of IJMR’s HCPs, employing Scopus data alongside VOSviewer for co-authorship, co-word, and citation mapping. The primary aim was to delineate the temporal, geographical, institutional, and thematic contours of IJMR’s influential outputs, to understand their role in advancing India’s health research landscape. Specific objectives included (i) charting publication and citation trends over decades; (ii) mapping country-, organisation-, and author-level collaborations; (iii) identifying dominant subject domains and keyword networks; and (iv) assessing funding and research typologies.
Methods
This study employed a bibliometric approach to analyse the publication landscape of the IJMR, using the Scopus database, from 1945 to 2024. The Scopus search was independently conducted by two authors using a predefined search strategy data collection was conducted between August 1 to August 7, 2025 and the analysis was done from August 8th-15th, 2025. The analysis was refined to focus on highly impactful research, involving the papers with ≥100 citations, considered as highly-cited publications (HCPs).7,9 Article screening and selection of HCPs were performed independently by the same authors based on the predefined citation threshold, and discrepancies, if any, were resolved through discussion and consensus. Each article was independently assigned to subject domains by two authors based on article title, abstract, and keywords, followed by grouping into broader umbrella domains. Conflicts in domain assignment were resolved by mutual discussion, and uniformity was ensured using predefined domain definitions and cross-verification of allocations.
The inclusion criteria were articles published in IJMR and having received 100 or more citations during the study period. The period 1957–2024 was selected for the counting of HCPs because 1957 represents the earliest year in which an IJMR publication crossed the predefined threshold for HCPs, based on Scopus indexing. The criteria chosen for the top authors were those who had published a minimum of two HCPs in the IJMR.
To gain a deeper understanding of this research landscape, MS-Excel and VOSviewer software ( https://www.vosviewer.com/ ) was employed for co-author analysis to identify collaboration patterns, co-word analysis to reveal emerging research topics through keyword co-occurrence, and citation analysis to pinpoint the most influential and HCPs.
Subject domain mapping was done by first categorising all the extracted articles under 24 priority subject domains identified through mapping of published articles over one year in the IJMR. This was followed by backtracking to categorise these under seven umbrella domains of broad scope and visibility.
Data reporting and analysis
Findings of this bibliometric analysis were presented mostly as actual counts, percentages, etc. Correlation coefficient (r) calculated to validate that the increase in publication output was not merely a change in volume, but if the journal’s quantitative growth aligned with its qualitative influence over the longitudinal period.
Results
This study identified a total of 187 HCPs that were published in the IJMR between 1957-2022 (Supplementary Fig. 1) from 14834 publications (1.3%) during 1945 to 2024. These HCPs included reviews (n=109), original research articles (n=73), short notes (n=3), editorial and letter (1 each). The response to letter to editor, and notices were not considered. These 187 HCPs collectively received 33,830 citations, with an average of 180.9 citations per paper (CPP). They were authored by 1,192 researchers representing 225 organisations across 37 countries. Each paper had an average of 10.9 co-authors.
Year-Wise Distribution
Table I, Supplementary Fig. 2 demonstrate increasing publication and citation trends over seven decades. A strong positive correlation between the number of publications and citations (r=0.72) was found.
| Year | Total papers | Total citations | Year | Total papers | Total citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 1 | 115 | 2003 | 1 | 129 |
| 1964 | 1 | 128 | 2004 | 14 | 3047 |
| 1967 | 2 | 223 | 2005 | 10 | 1563 |
| 1971 | 2 | 306 | 2006 | 13 | 2351 |
| 1972 | 1 | 122 | 2007 | 10 | 2241 |
| 1980 | 3 | 625 | 2008 | 16 | 4093 |
| 1981 | 1 | 210 | 2009 | 18 | 1997 |
| 1982 | 1 | 159 | 2010 | 14 | 2591 |
| 1985 | 1 | 130 | 2011 | 12 | 1897 |
| 1987 | 2 | 321 | 2012 | 8 | 1601 |
| 1988 | 3 | 340 | 2013 | 11 | 1581 |
| 1990 | 4 | 790 | 2014 | 5 | 689 |
| 1991 | 1 | 122 | 2015 | 7 | 12656 |
| 1995 | 2 | 216 | 2016 | 3 | 484 |
| 1996 | 1 | 217 | 2017 | 3 | 458 |
| 1998 | 1 | 103 | 2018 | 3 | 560 |
| 1999 | 1 | 138 | 2019 | 6 | 1036 |
| 2000 | 1 | 131 | 2020 | 9 | 1531 |
| 2001 | 1 | 122 | 2022 | 1 | 427 |
| 2002 | 3 | 351 |
Total citations (which are cumulative and not in that year alone); IJMR, Indian Journal of Medical Research
The journal transitioned from a foundational period (1957–1980) of low volume but high-impact work to a high-productivity era between 2004 and 2011, peaking in output in 2009. The highest academic impact was seen in 2015, when a few key papers received 12,656 citations. After that, research output and impact remained steady up to 2022.
Distribution of citations and the top 10 most cited publications
The citation distribution of the 187 HCPs exhibits a highly skewed pattern (Supplementary Table), where a significant majority of publications (73.3%) maintain moderate, consistent performance within the 101–200 range. While recognition increases through the 201–600 ranges, the distribution is anchored by a small elite tier; specifically, the top 1.6% of papers (601–800 range) exerted a disproportionate influence, contributing 11% of the total 33,830 citations ( Table II).
| Citation range | Number of papers (n) | Percentage (%) | Total citations | % of total citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101–200 | 137 | 73.3 | 17,958 | 53 |
| 201–300 | 31 | 16.6 | 6,904 | 20.4 |
| 301–600 | 16 | 8.6 | 5,236 | 15.6 |
| 601–800+ | 3 | 1.6 | 3,732 | 11 |
| Total | 187 | 100 | 33,830 | 100 |
Types of publications
The IJMR’s HCPs were dominated by review articles (n=109, 58.3% share) followed by original research papers (n=73, 39%) and short notes (n=3, 1.6%). Except one editorial and a letter, reviews registered the highest average CPP (197.6), followed by original research articles (157.3 CPP) and short notes (149 CPP).
Funding support
A small number of the HCPs (5.9%) received the funding from 25 national and international agencies. Despite their low volume, these funded works demonstrated significant scholarly reach, totalling 1,998 citations with a high average of 181.6 CPP. Domestic support was led by the ICMR, alongside other Indian bodies like the MoHFW and SERB. Global contributions were diverse, featuring prominent agencies such as the NIH, WHO, and the Welcome Trust.
International collaborations
Twenty-four (12.8%) out of 187 HCPs were involved in an international collaboration and these together received 3723 citations, averaging 155.12 CPP. India participated in 17 international collaborative papers, followed by USA or United States of America (11 papers); UK or United Kingdom (7 papers); Australia (3 papers); Bangladesh, Canada, Mexico, Spain and Sweden (2 papers each); China, Costa Rico, France, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Papua New Guinea and Switzerland (1 paper each) ( Fig. 1).
Research type
Among the 187 HCPs, 62 (33.16%) constituted clinical studies, followed by studies related to epidemiology (n=44; 23.5%), risk factor assessments (n=32; 17.1%), genetics (n=17; 9.1%), pathophysiology (n=16; 8.6%), treatment outcome (n=7; 3.7%), prognosis (n=6; 3.2%), and complications (1.6%).
Contributions and collaborations among countries
Research from the 187 HCPs involved 37 countries, though the network is heavily centred on India, which contributed 148 publications (over 70% of the total output) and maintained the strongest collaborative ties. While most countries contributed only one or two papers, the USA (20 papers) and the UK (8 papers) emerged as the primary international partners, forming distinct clusters of cooperation alongside India ( Table III). The collaboration network is organised into three main groups: an India-led Asian cluster, a UK-led European/Australian network, and a USA-driven cluster involving nations like Sweden and Germany, and anchored by strong partnerships between India, the USA, and the UK.
| S. No. | Country | Total papers | Total citations | Citations per paper | Total link strength | % TP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 148 | 26812 | 181.16 | 33 | 79.14 |
| 2 | United States of America | 20 | 3498 | 174.9 | 13 | 10.70 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 8 | 1379 | 68.95 | 10 | 4.28 |
| 4 | Switzerland | 6 | 1550 | 77.5 | 8 | 3.21 |
| 5 | Iran | 3 | 490 | 24.5 | 0 | 1.60 |
| 6 | Spain | 2 | 265 | 16.95 | 7 | 1.07 |
| 7 | Australia | 2 | 339 | 15.55 | 4 | 1.07 |
| 8 | Sweden | 2 | 262 | 13.25 | 3 | 1.07 |
| 9 | Mexico | 2 | 311 | 13.1 | 2 | 1.07 |
| Total of top nine countries | 193 | 34906 | 180.86 | |||
| Global total | 187 | 33830 | 180.91 |
Leading organisations
A total of 225 organisations contributed to the 187 HCPs, though productivity was highly concentrated. Most institutions (n=200) produced only 1–2 papers, while the top five: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (23), Indian Council of Medical Research (15), Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati (7), Christian Medical College, Vellore (6), and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai (6) exceeded the average productivity of 5.17 papers per organisation ( Table IV). In terms of citation impact, nine organisations surpassed the overall average of 180.9 CPP, led by JIPMER Puducherry (251.4), CFTRI Mysore (238.7), and PGIMER Chandigarh (227.4).
| S. No. | Organisation | Total papers | Total citations | Citations per paper | Total link strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi | 23 | 4174 | 181.47 | 33 |
| 2 | Indian Council of Medical Research (Inclusive of all ICMR institutes) | 15 | 3250 | 216.66 | 47 |
| 3 | Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati | 7 | 1551 | 221.57 | 12 |
| 4 | Christian Medical College, Vellore, Vellore | 6 | 966 | 161 | 43 |
| 5 | Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai | 6 | 1328 | 221.33 | 14 |
| 6 | Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry | 5 | 1257 | 251.4 | 23 |
| 7 | Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh | 5 | 1137 | 227.4 | 23 |
| 8 | Central Drug Research Institute Lucknow | 4 | 434 | 108.5 | 0 |
| 9 | National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru | 4 | 611 | 152.75 | 3 |
| 10 | National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad | 4 | 523 | 130.75 | 10 |
| 11 | St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru | 4 | 771 | 192.25 | 2 |
| 12 | Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences Kochi | 3 | 386 | 128.66 | 1 |
| 13 | Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore | 3 | 716 | 238.66 | 2 |
| 14 | Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi | 3 | 399 | 133 | 6 |
| 15 | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi | 3 | 461 | 153.66 | 16 |
| 16 | National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi | 3 | 438 | 146 | 20 |
| 17 | National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata | 3 | 441 | 147 | 18 |
| 18 | National Institute of Immunology, India | 3 | 535 | 178.33 | 27 |
| 19 | National Jalma Institute of Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, Agra | 3 | 482 | 160.66 | 2 |
| 20 | Panjab University, Chandigarh | 3 | 641 | 213.66 | 0 |
| 21 | Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi | 3 | 488 | 162.66 | 11 |
| 22 | Translational Global Health Policy Research Cell, New Delhi | 3 | 516 | 172 | 14 |
| 23 | Tuberculosis Research Centre, India, Chennai | 3 | 468 | 156 | 1 |
| Total of top 23 organisations | 119 | 21973 | 184.65 | 328 | |
| Global total | 187 | 33830 | 180.91 | ||
| Share of top 23 organisations in global total | 63.64 | 64.95 |
The institutional collaboration network centred on AIIMS New Delhi and ICMR, which serve as epicentres for interdisciplinary and international linkages ( Fig. 2). The network is organised into specialised clusters: Cluster 1 (blue) focuses on medical education and policy through AIIMS and SVIMS; Cluster 2 (green) emphasises public health and epidemiology via PHFI and various ICMR institutes; Cluster 3 (yellow) centres on biomedical and molecular research; and Cluster 4 (purple) connects neuroscience and mental health institutions with global partners like King’s College London.
Top authors
A total of 614 authors contributed to the 187 HCPs. The top 25 authors produced between 2 and 9 papers each and together accounted for 77 papers (41%) and 14,377 citations (43%) of the total. This subset exhibited higher productivity than the average of approximately three papers per author. Notably, eight among these top authors achieved average CPP exceeding 180.
The authors’ collaboration network in the HCPs of IJMR was characterised by strong interdisciplinary and institutional interconnections with ICMR and AIIMS, New Delhi researchers.
Broad subject domain analysis
The 187 HCPs from the IJMR were grouped into seven major subject domains ( Table V), with communicable diseases representing the largest share. Within this category, most papers focused on bacterial infections (notably tuberculosis and antimicrobial resistance), viral infections (emphasising COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS), and vector-borne diseases (such as leishmaniasis and dengue). Non-communicable diseases formed the second largest category, led by studies on diabetes, cancer, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic conditions. Multi-domain articles were classified under all relevant subject areas.
| S. No. | Broad subject domain | Sub-domain | Number of articles; n (%) | Total citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Communicable diseases | Vector borne diseases | 19 (23) | 3674 |
| Virology | 25 (30) | 3756 | ||
| Bacterial infections | 33 (40) | 5478 | ||
| Neglected tropical diseases | 4 (5) | 724 | ||
| Other communicable diseases | 2 (2) | 319 | ||
| Total | 83 | 13,951 | ||
| 2 | Non-communicable diseases | Diabetes | 21 | 4009 |
| Obesity | 6 | 1042 | ||
| Cardiovascular and Heart diseases | 5 | 675 | ||
| Cancer | 9 (19) | 1670 | ||
| Other non-communicable diseases | 16 (34) | 2374 | ||
| Sickle cell disease | 2 | 210 | ||
| Total | 57 | 8053 | ||
| 3 | Medicine | Total | 25 | 4394 |
| 4 | Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent health | Total | 10 | 1661 |
| 5 | Epidemiology and Public health | General Epidemiology and Public health | 21 (48) | 3313 |
| Food science and Nutrition | 17 (38) | 4118 | ||
| Social determinants of health | 6 (14) | 697 | ||
| Total | 44 | 8128 | ||
| 6 | Biology | Total | 27 | 7005 |
| 7 | Basic sciences | Total | 13 | 2683 |
Significant keywords
Analysis of 1,567 unique keywords from the 187 HCPs reveals a strong focus on chronic and infectious diseases. The most frequent terms include ‘Diabetes Mellitus’ (17 occurrences), ‘HIV Infection’ (16), ‘Obesity’ (16), and ‘Hypertension’ (13), alongside significant attention to ‘Public Health’ and ‘Plant Extracts.’ A co-occurrence network of 50 key terms identifies six thematic clusters with a Total Link Strength (TLS) of 403, reflecting the journal’s multidisciplinary alignment with India’s primary health priorities ( Fig. 3, Supplementary Table).
The thematic clusters demonstrate specialised research synergies: the blue Cluster 3 (metabolic and lifestyle disorders) is the most influential, followed by the red Cluster 1 (metabolism and cancer) and the green Cluster 2 (infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance). Viral research and immunology are captured in the yellow Cluster 4, while maternal and child health (purple Cluster 5) and the recent COVID-19 response (cyan Cluster 6) rounded out the network. This high level of interlinkage between non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and immunology underscores the journal’s comprehensive contribution to global biomedical and epidemiological advancements ( Fig. 3).
Top 20 highly-cited publications
The top 20 HCPs in the IJMR ( Table VI) had citations ranging from 303 to 892, received 9096 total citations (average CPP: 454.8). These reveal significant contributions across diverse biomedical domains, with a strong emphasis on toxicology, infectious diseases, and chronic metabolic disorders. These HCPs spanned four decades (1980–2022), showcasing the journal’s sustained contribution to medical research.
| S. No. | Publication citation | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flora SJ, Mittal M, Mehta A. Heavy metal induced oxidative stress and its possible reversal by chelation therapy. Indian J Med Res. 2008;128:501–23. | 892 |
| 2 | Sharma SK, Mohan A. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Indian J Med Res. 2004;120:316–53. | 644 |
| 3 | Srinivasan K, Ramarao P. Animal models in type 2 diabetes research: an overview. Indian J Med Res. 2007;125:451–72. | 605 |
| 4 | Mohan V, Sandeep S, Deepa R, Shah B, Varghese C. Epidemiology of type 2 diabetes: Indian scenario. Indian J Med Res. 2007;125:217–30. | 586 |
| 5 | Bernard A. Cadmium and its adverse effects on human health. Indian J Med Res. 2008;128:557-564. | 579 |
| 6 | Das KK, Das SN, Dhundasi SA. Nickel, its adverse health effects and oxidative stress. Indian J Med Res. 2008;128:412-425. | 568 |
| 7 | Ghosh A, Chowdhury N, Chandra G. Plant extracts as potential mosquito larvicides. Indian J Med Res. 2012;135:581–98. | 486 |
| 8 | Makker K, Agarwal A, Sharma R. Oxidative stress and male infertility. Indian J Med Res. 2009;129:357–67. | 459 |
| 9 | Pradhan SC, Girish C. Hepatoprotective herbal drug, silymarin from experimental pharmacology to clinical medicine. Indian J Med Res. 2006;124:491–504. | 449 |
| 10 | Sathishkumar K, Chaturvedi M, Das P, Stephen S, Mathur P. Cancer incidence estimates for 2022 and projection for 2025: Result from National Cancer Registry Programme, India. Indian J Med Res. 2022;156:598–607. | 444 |
| 11` | Deodhar SD, Sethi R, Srimal RC. Preliminary study on antirheumatic activity of curcumin (diferuloyl methane). Indian J Med Res. 1980;71:632–34. | 393 |
| 12 | Guha Mazumder DN. Chronic arsenic toxicity and human health. Indian J Med Res. 2008;128:436-447. | 357 |
| 13 | Croft SL, Seifert K, Yardley V. Current scenario of drug development for leishmaniasis. Indian J Med Res. 2006;123:399–410. | 352 |
| 14 | Nandi SK, Roy S, Mukherjee P, Kundu B, De DK, Basu D. Orthopaedic applications of bone graft and graft substitutes: a review. Indian J Med Res. 2010;132:15–30. | 349 |
| 15 | Sharma A, Gupta VK, Pathania R. Efflux pump inhibitors for bacterial pathogens: From bench to bedside. Indian J Med Res. 2019;149:129–45. | 343 |
| 16 | Handa SS, Sharma A. Hepatoprotective activity of andrographolide from Andrographis paniculata against carbontetrachloride. Indian J Med Res. 1990;92:276–83. | 333 |
| 17 | Andrews MA, Areekal B, Rajesh KR, Krishnan J, Suryakala R, Krishnan B, et al. First confirmed case of COVID-19 infection in India: A case report. Indian J Med Res. 2020;151:490–92. | 326 |
| 18 | Platel K, Srinivasan K. Digestive stimulant action of spices: a myth or reality? Indian J Med Res. 2004;119:167–79. | 317 |
| 19 | Sharma MP, Bhatia V. Abdominal tuberculosis. Indian J Med Res. 2004;120:305–15. | 311 |
| 20 | Jaiswal PK, Goel A, Mittal RD. Survivin: A molecular biomarker in cancer. Indian J Med Res. 2015;141:389–97. | 303 |
Discussion
This bibliometric analysis of 187 HCPs in the IJMR received 33,830 total citations and a peak in influence during 2015. Output increased from a foundational phase (1957–1980) to a peak in 2009 (r=0.72), before stabilising between 2016 and 2022. Review articles comprised the majority of these publications (58.3%), with a focus on tuberculosis, COVID-19, and diabetes. The Indian first authorship was primarily from AIIMS and ICMR, and accounted for over 70% of the output. International collaboration and external funding remained limited (5.9%), reflecting a research ecosystem centred on national health priorities and centralised institutional excellence. The top 20 HCPs further demonstrate this global reach, particularly in toxicology and infectious diseases, marking the 2000–2010 period as a ‘golden decade’ for the journal’s influence.
These findings align with broader Indian bibliometric trends, where post-2000 escalations in NCDs research were driven by policy surges11,12 and pandemic-era virology outputs increased by 300%.13 The dominance of AIIMS and ICMR as research hubs generating 25–30% of national HCPs mirrors observations in recent health research studies,14 while the limited international footprint (12.8%) reflects prior reported funding and mobility hurdles.15 Despite a high volume of reviews compared to global empirical trends,16 IJMR serves as a vital source of knowledge given the topical diversity. The scarcity of funding (5.9%) corroborates wider inequities in external grant support,17 yet the journal remains as an anchorage documenting to India’s expanding and shifting research landscape. Collaborative partnerships, particularly those visualised via VOSviewer,18 have been shown to increase citation rates by an estimated 20%, making the IJMR a key meeting point for progress in chronic and pandemic-related health challenges.13,14
Limitations of this study, however, warrant caution. Scopus’s Anglo-centric indexing may deflate regional citations, as cross-database audits show 20–30% under-representation in non-Western outputs.19 The 100-citation cut off, pragmatic for IJMR’s milieu, risks side-lining nascent influencers in genomics (9.1%) or complications (1.6%). Funding metrics’ incompleteness (only 5.9% reported) likely masks informal inputs, biasing equity narratives. We acknowledge the time-dependent nature of cumulative citation counts: (i) older articles may accrue fewer citations due to limited journal coverage, accessibility, and indexing in earlier decades, and (ii) more recent publications are disadvantaged by shorter citation windows, leading to inherently lower cumulative citation totals. We also realise that the time-normalised indicators (e.g., citations within a fixed post-publication window such as five years) can offer more equitable comparisons, such analyses were not feasible for this study due to data constraints across the extended historical timeframe. Furthermore, we acknowledge that the journal-level metrics such as cited half-life and immediacy index were not applied because the study focused on article-level highly cited publications using Scopus data, not journal citation reports (JCR) indicators.
Future research should expand data sources to include Web of Science and PubMed for more accurate citation tracking, while using altmetrics to measure social impact.20 Looking toward 2030, the journal should focus on the benefits of open-access (OA) publishing and address under represented areas such as mental health. These findings suggest that the IJMR can lead the way in creating a fairer research environment by shifting its focus toward original research and high-priority topics like antimicrobial resistance (AMR).21 To increase global visibility, the journal should aim for higher international co-authorship through ICMR partnerships and work to secure larger funding from external grants. By encouraging different institutions to work together; a method shown to increase citations and filling research gaps in public health, the IJMR can strengthen its role as a global leader. Policy changes, such as building stronger international consortia and moving toward a hybrid data model for better quality control, will help the journal support India’s health goals and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ultimately, these steps will help bridge the gap between researchers in different parts of the world and ensure a more resilient scientific future.
Overall, this bibliometric analysis of IJMR HCPs (1957–2022) reveals growth from modest beginnings to a globally read biomedical publication. Reviews predominate, synthesising insights on communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases like diabetes, aligning with India’s health priorities. Indian research thus far anchored collaborations via AIIMS/ICMR networks spanning authors and institutions, but now international partnerships and funding warrant expansion. Keyword patterns highlight metabolic and infectious synergies, with prolific authors driving interdisciplinary impact.
Author contributions
RV: Conceptualisation, literature search and analysis, manuscript writing; BMG, CSM and AV: Literature search and analysis, manuscript writing; AA: Facilitation, subject domain mapping, manuscript writing. All authors have read and approved the final printed version of the manuscript.
Financial support and sponsorship
None.
Conflicts of Interest
The Corresponding author (AA) of the manuscript is the Executive Editor of the Indian Journal of Medical Research, however, she had no role to play in the processing or decision making pertaining to this manuscript. Prior permission for undertaking this bibliometric analysis was obtained from the Competent Authority, Chairperson of the Indian Journal of Medical Research, ICMR, New Delhi.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology for manuscript preparation
The author(s) confirms that Grammarly software was used to enhance the readability and improving the English grammar of manuscript. However, the final version was re-checked and the authors take the full responsibility for its contents.
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