Does published research on non-communicable disease (NCD) in Arab countries reflect NCD disease burden?

ObjectivesTo review trends in non-communicable (NCD) research output in the Arab region, in terms of quantity and quality, study design, setting and focus. We also examined differences by time and place, and assessed gaps between research output and NCD burden.MethodsA scoping review of a total of 3,776 NCD-related reports published between 2000 and 2013 was conducted for seven Arab countries. Countries were selected to represent diverse socio-economic development levels in the region: Regression analyses were used to assess trends in publications over time and by country. Research gaps were assessed by examining the degree of match between proportionate literature coverage of the four main NCDs (CVD, cancer, DM, and COPD) and cause-specific proportional mortality rates (PMR).ResultsThe annual number of NCD publications rose nearly 5-fold during the study period, with higher income countries having the higher publication rates (per million populations) and the most rapid increases. The increase in the publication rate was particularly prominent for descriptive observational studies, while interventional studies and systematic reviews remained infrequent (slope coefficients = 13.484 and 0.883, respectively). Gap analysis showed a mismatch between cause-specific PMR burden and NCD research output, with a relative surplus of reports on cancer (pooled estimate +38.3%) and a relative deficit of reports on CVDs (pooled estimate -30.3%).ConclusionThe widening disparity between higher and lower-income countries and the discordance between research output and disease burden call for the need for ongoing collaboration among Arab academic institutions, funding agencies and researchers to guide country-specific and regional research agendas, support and conduct.

旨在审视阿拉伯地区非传染性疾病（NCD）研究产出在数量和质量上的趋势，以及研究设计、研究环境和焦点。此外，我们还探讨了时间与地域差异，并评估了研究产出与NCD疾病负担之间的差距。研究方法上，对2000年至2013年间七个阿拉伯国家发表的3,776篇NCD相关报告进行了范围综述。选择国家旨在代表该地区多样化的社会经济发育水平：通过回归分析评估了出版物随时间及国家变化的趋势。通过考察四大主要NCD（心血管疾病、癌症、糖尿病和慢性阻塞性肺病）文献覆盖比例与特定原因的死亡率比例（PMR）之间的匹配度，评估了研究空白。结果显示，研究期间NCD出版物的年发表量几乎增长了5倍，高收入国家的出版率（每百万人口）更高，增长速度也最快。在描述性观察研究和干预研究中，出版率的增长尤为显著，而系统评价研究则相对罕见（斜率系数分别为13.484和0.883）。差距分析显示，特定原因的PMR负担与NCD研究产出之间存在不匹配，癌症报告相对过剩（合并估计+38.3%），而心血管疾病报告相对不足（合并估计-30.3%）。结论部分指出，高收入国家与低收入国家之间的差距不断扩大，研究产出与疾病负担之间的不一致性呼唤阿拉伯学术机构、资助机构和研究人员之间的持续合作，以指导国家及区域研究议程，支持并开展研究。