Dementia Research Productivity and Associations with Socioeconomic Factors and Burden of Disease in Southeast Asia

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 (R&D), 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 R & D may have a significant role in the advancement of dementia research in SEA.