INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS FROM THE FRENCH GERIATRIC TEAMS: EVOLUTION IN THE COURSE OF LAST 22 YEARS

Background: Bibliometry is a widely used method assessing the activity of research. Aim: Assess research activity of the French geriatric teams by bibliometry for the last 22 years and replaced it in the evolution of the French geriatrics. Methods: Data were collected via MEDLINE through Internet PubMed. Publications from French geriatrics teams were identified using search of relevant terms for geriatrics in the field Affiliation from 1985 to 2006. Citations and abstracts were analyzed before including the publication in the study. Results: We identified 692 articles published by French geriatric teams. Among them, 295 were English articles and 166 were reviews of the literature. Throughout these twenty-two years, the number of publications was consequentially increased. Nutrition and dementia-psychogeriatrics were the themes most often mentioned. The total of these publications impact factors (IF) is 753 points over the last twenty-two years, rating from 45 points between 1985 and 1989 to 330 points between 2000 and 2004. The mean score of the impact factors by publication remains relatively stable, but the number of publications having an impact factor superior to 3 increases in the course of this time interval. Conclusion: This bibliometric investigation points out the growing interest of the French geriatrics in clinical research, mostly oriented toward nutrition and dementia in the elderly