Influence of the 1991-1995 war on Croatian publications in the MEDLINE database

Summary

Aim: to identify the influence of the 1991-1995 war on Croatian biomedical publications with reference to the Croatian universities and medical centers in Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek and their regions.  Methods: Internet provider PubMed was used to search MEDLINE database in the pre-war (1988-1990), war (1991-1995) and post-war (1996-2000) periods. Annual numbers of publications in the MEDLINE and Core Clinical Journals (Abridged Index Medicus; AIM-journals) were calculated for each center in the above mentioned periods. Our analysis included socio-economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP) and total employment, human resources such as the number of full-time researchers, teachers and researchers in biomedical sciences, university graduates, master and doctoral thesis. Descriptive statistics and t-test were used.  Results: In the 1988-2000 period the proportion of Croatian publications in the MEDLINE database was 0.076%. The proportion of AIM-publication in the MEDLINE was 11.5%, while the proportion of Croatian AIM-publications in Croatian publications in the MEDLINE was only 0.02%. Compared to the pre-war period, Croatia increased the number of publications in the MEDLINE in the war period (p<0.05) and post-war period (p<0.01). In the war period GDP and other socio-economic indicators decreased in contrast to an increase in biomedical publications. All centers increased the number of MEDLINE publications significantly in the war and post-war periods (p<0.01), while the growth of AIM-publications in Zagreb and Split was not significant. The proportion of biomedical publications in Zagreb decreased in the war and post-war periods while it was almost doubled in the other centers. Croatia increased its biomedical publication rates (per 100,000 inhabitants per year) from 3.8 (the pre-war period) to 6.6 (the war period) and 9.0 (the post-war period). In those periods biomedical publication rates were also increased in all centers with belonging regions, in spite of the war. A small number of teachers and researchers in biomedical sciences in Split and Osijek produced more publications per person in the war period than a larger number of their colleagues in other two centers.  Conclusion: Croatia and its centers, Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek increased biomedical publication rates despite enormous destruction and human losses caused by the war. Despite a significant increase in the quantity of Croatian publications in the MEDLINE database, the number of AIM-publications increased only slightly.