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Background: Although headache is one of the most common neurologic conditions with a high disease burden, primary data on headache research from Southeast Asia (SEA) was hypothesized to be inadequate. This study aimed to evaluate research productivity among the different countries in SEA and to determine the association between specific bibliometric indices and socioeconomic factors. Methods: A systematic search was conducted until June 10, 2020 in Scopus, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Index Medicus for South-East Asia Region to include all primary headache studies on migraine, tension-type headache, and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia, with at least one author affiliated with a SEA country. Bibliometric indices, such as the number of publications and PlumX metrics, were obtained and correlated with the country-specific socioeconomic factors. Results: We identified 153 articles. Most of the publications (n = 43, 28.1%) were epidemiologic studies and case reports/series (n = 25, 16.3%). Migraine was the most studied primary headache subtype. Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand were the major contributors to primary headache research in SEA. Only the percent gross domestic product for research and development correlated significantly with research productivity. Conclusion: Despite the high global burden of disease, research productivity on primary headache was low in SEA. The move towards a knowledge-based economy may drive research productivity in SEA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The status of research and scientific outputs with regards to bacterial central nervous system (CNS) infection in southeast Asia (SEA) is unknown. This study aimed to analyze and compare bacterial CNS infection research output of SEA countries in terms of bibliometric indices.Methods: The major electronic databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, CENTRAL, Clinicaltrials.gov and WPRIM) were searched for studies on bacterial CNS infection in SEA until August 31, 2020. Frequencies, percentages and Spearman's rho correlations were used.Results: There was a total of 648 unique studies on bacterial CNS infection in SEA and it was 657 when double-counted (collaborative studies between SEA countries). Thailand (n=148, 22.5%) and Vietnam (n=142, 21.6%) had the highest number of publications. The most common type of research publication was the case report / case series (n=160, 24.7%). Tuberculous meningitis/tuberculoma (n=176, 26.7%) was the most common topic. This study showed that the %GDP for research and development (R&D) was associated with a higher number of research output. However, the GDP per capita was not associated with any of the bibliometric indices. The total number of neurologists was associated with all of the bibliometric analysis.Conclusion: Bacterial CNS infection research output in SEA countries was low in terms of quantity. The %GDP for R&D was associated with the number of research publications. The total number of neurologists was associated with all of the bibliometric indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is an unmet need to assess research productivity from southeast Asia (SEA) regarding primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors. The country's economy, landscape of neurology practice, and disease burden are hypothesized to correlate with scientific output. This study aimed to objectively measure the impact of published studies on primary brain tumors in SEA and to assess for correlation with socioeconomic determinants and burden of disease. Methods: We systematically searched electronic databases for relevant articles from SEA on primary CNS tumor until July 31, 2020. Bibliometric indices were reported and subjected to correlational analysis with population size, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, percentage (%) GDP for research and development (R&D), total number of neurologists, disease incidence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life years. Results: A total of 549 articles were included, consisting primarily of case reports (n=187, 34.06%) and discussed gliomas (n=195, 35.52%). Singapore published the most number of the articles (n=246, 44.8%). Statistical analysis showed a positive correlation between %GDP for R&D and total publication. Additionally, negative relationships were noted between burden of disease and total neurologist with most bibliometric indices. However, GDP per capita was not correlated with measures for research productivity. Conclusion: The low impact of scientific output on primary CNS tumors in SEA does not address the growing epidemiology and burden of this disease. An increase in the GDP growth and financial and manpower investment to R&D may significantly improve research productivity in SEA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of scientific publications on movement disorders from Southeast Asia (SEA) is thought to be low. Thus, we looked at the movement disorders research productivity among SEA countries and its associations with country-specific socioeconomic factors.Methods: We performed a systematic search for publications indexed in PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from January 2000 to December 2019 with at least one author from SEA. Bibliometric indices were used to evaluate research impact. The country-specific socioeconomic characteristics were also obtained.Results: Of the 9488 identified articles, 1567 met the eligibility criteria. There was an increasing trend in the total number of publications on movement disorders during the last two decades. Singapore had the highest contribution in all aspects, which highlights the impact of knowledge-based economy type in research productivity. Parkinsonism remained the most studied condition, followed by dystonia, chorea, and tremor. Among the socioeconomic factors, only % gross domestic product (GDP) for research and development showed a positive correlation on the number of publications of a country. On the other hand, GDP per capita, population size and the number of neurologist size did not affect research productivity.Conclusions: An increasing trend in the movement disorders research output over the last 20 years was seen. Singapore had the highest contribution in all aspects which highlights the impact of economy in research productivity. Among the socioeconomic factors, only % GDP for R&D showed a positive impact on the number of publications of a country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Scientific output in Southeast Asia (SEA) on the topic of dementia is postulated to be low in quality and quantity. It is also speculated that certain socioeconomic variables and measures of disease burden for dementia may play a significant role in driving the research output of a particular country.Objective: This study aimed to determine the research impact of published journal articles on dementia in SEA and its association with country-level socioeconomic factors and measures of disease burden for dementia.Methods: A systematic search was conducted using electronic healthcare databases. We included articles published on dementia until August 2019 with at least 1 author affiliated with any SEA institution. We obtained bibliometric indices, relevant socioeconomic factors, and measures of disease burden for dementia from published sources.Results: One thousand six articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The majority of publications were related to Alzheimer's disease (n = 775, 77.0%). Singapore contributed the highest number of publications (n = 457, 45.4%). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, % GDP for research and development, and total neurologists significantly correlated with several bibliometric indices. On the other hand, the measures of disease burden for dementia in SEA countries were not significantly associated with research productivity.Conclusion: Research productivity in SEA on dementia has substantially increased in recent years. Augmenting GDP per capita and expanding the apportionment of resources to research and development (R&D) may have a significant role in the advancement of dementia research in SEA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]