Funding of nuclear medicine research and association with citation impact

Purpose There has been no recent investigation on nuclear medicine research funding. Our purpose was to investigate the frequency of funded nuclear medicine research and whether funding is associated with citation impact. Methods Original articles published in three major nuclear medicine journals were assessed for funding. Results 337 (56.2%) of 600 articles declared funding, which included federal sponsoring (47.6%), non-profit foundations (22.5%), intramural institutional foundations (16.0%), and private industry (13.9%). In linear regression analysis (adjusted for journal, continent of origin, mentioning of study findings in the article title, number of authors, open access publishing, and time since online publication), funding was significantly associated with citation impact (beta coefficient = 5.111, 95% CI, 1.005-9.217, P = 0.015). Conclusions More than half of research in major nuclear medicine journals declared funding. The far majority were supported federally, followed by non-profit foundations, intramural institutional foundations, and private industry. Funding was associated with higher citation impact.