Bibliometric analysis of spanish scientific publications on tobacco use during the period 1970–1996

Spanish scientific publications on tobacco use during the period 1970–1996 were studied, including all published work carried out in Spanish institutions indexed in IME or in MEDLINE and available on CD-ROM, using the search criteria fuma* and taba* in the first database, and tobacco and smoking in the second. A total of 405 papers were found by IME, published in Spanish journals, and another 194 in MEDLINE, published in foreign journals. In the latter database, a time-related increase in the number of papers was detected. Original articles accounted for 80.6% of the papers analyzed. The degree of collaboration between authors, research centres and institutions was 88.6%, 30.7% and 21.8%, respectively. The most productive Spanish communities were Catalonia and Madrid. The Spanish papers were published in 83 Spanish journals, of which 36 (43.4%) published just one paper, and in 124 foreign journals, of which 85 (68.5%) published a single paper. The average number of authors per paper was 4.02±2.46 in Spanish journals and 4.96±2.26 in foreign ones. The total number of authors was 1633, of whom 1162 (71.2%) appeared on a single paper. The contribution of Spanish scientific production concerning tobacco use, in international terms, has increased in recent years, but a higher level of cooperation between research centres and institutions is desirable.