Publications in Psychiatry: Modern Historical Trends and Sociodemographic Factors (2000-2022)
Abstract
Background and objectives: Psychiatric research has grown significantly in recent years, with an increase in scientific publications worldwide. However, the factors associated with these trends remain insufficiently explored. This study examines the country-level correlates of psychiatric research output across countries, focusing on economic, demographic, and development-related variables. The analysis considers the annual number of publications, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), population size and density, and the Human Development Index (HDI). Methods: Data were retrieved from Web of Science and considered all publications categorized under "Psychiatry" from 2000 to 2022. The study period was selected to ensure consistency with demographic and economic datasets, for which data were available through 2022. Generalized linear mixed model were employed to estimate the associations of GDP, population, and HDI with publication output. Results: At the global level, GDP and HDI showed significant positive associations with both absolute and relative psychiatric publication frequency (ps < .001). Population size was positively associated with absolute frequency but negatively associated with relative frequency, whereas population density was positively associated only with absolute frequency. In the continent-specific analyses, HDI was positively associated with both outcomes in all six continents. Exploratory analyses of its components revealed greater regional differentiation: education-related indicators showed the most consistent positive associations, whereas gross national income per capita and life expectancy varied across continents in their direction and statistical significance. Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive overview of global trends in psychiatric research and their most associated factors. The results underscore the importance of economic growth and human development in fostering scientific productivity, with substantial variation across continents.
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BibTeX
@misc{cavallaro2026publications,
title = {{Publications in Psychiatry: Modern Historical Trends and Sociodemographic Factors (2000-2022)}},
author = {Riccardo Cavallaro and Alessandro Carollo and Marc H. Bornstein and Gianluca Esposito},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/duyma_v2},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/duyma_v2/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Publications in Psychiatry: Modern Historical Trends and Sociodemographic Factors (2000-2022)
AU - Riccardo Cavallaro
AU - Alessandro Carollo
AU - Marc H. Bornstein
AU - Gianluca Esposito
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/duyma_v2
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/duyma_v2/
AB - Background and objectives: Psychiatric research has grown significantly in recent years, with an increase in scientific publications worldwide. However, the factors associated with these trends remain insufficiently explored. This study examines the country-level correlates of psychiatric research output across countries, focusing on economic, demographic, and development-related variables. The analysis considers the annual number of publications, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), population size and density, and the Human Development Index (HDI). Methods: Data were retrieved from Web of Science and considered all publications categorized under "Psychiatry" from 2000 to 2022. The study period was selected to ensure consistency with demographic and economic datasets, for which data were available through 2022. Generalized linear mixed model were employed to estimate the associations of GDP, population, and HDI with publication output. Results: At the global level, GDP and HDI showed significant positive associations with both absolute and relative psychiatric publication frequency (ps < .001). Population size was positively associated with absolute frequency but negatively associated with relative frequency, whereas population density was positively associated only with absolute frequency. In the continent-specific analyses, HDI was positively associated with both outcomes in all six continents. Exploratory analyses of its components revealed greater regional differentiation: education-related indicators showed the most consistent positive associations, whereas gross national income per capita and life expectancy varied across continents in their direction and statistical significance. Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive overview of global trends in psychiatric research and their most associated factors. The results underscore the importance of economic growth and human development in fostering scientific productivity, with substantial variation across continents.
ER -