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The paper analyses the development of the total number of journal articles indexed in the Medline database published by authors affiliated to Denmark 1989-1998 in medicine compared to the development in the European Union during the same period. The publication analysis is then compared to the citation impact of articles published in the central journals indexed in Science Citation Index (ISI) 1987-1996 through use of the National Science Indicators (NIS, ISI) database. The total number of Danish journal articles has remained relatively constant compared to a 50% increase in the EU as a whole. The number of Danish articles published in central journals, however, has increased by 20% (compared to 27% for the EU) and the number of citations obtained by these articles by 58% (compared to 66% for the EU) in the 1987-1996 period. By population, Denmark ranked third in total number of articles in 1998. In conclusion, Denmark is very active in medical research but neither the quantity nor the quality of Danish medical research has increased at the same rate as the EU average.

The aim of the survey was to analyse the investment by the Danish Heart Foundation in the cardiovascular research field in the period 1988-1990 and the ensuing research results. One hundred and thirty-nine researchers were allocated a total DDK 24.1 million. Eighty percent of the researchers have concluded their research work and published 362 scientific papers in 131 journals. The total journal impact factor obtained among 270 scientific papers with known journal impact factor was 642. The median journal impact factor was 1.580. Thirty-five percent of the papers were published in journals with journal impact factor greater than three. The productivity, defined as total journal impact factor obtained divided by an estimate of the total amount (DKK 200 million) of economic support received by the researcher from all sources, was estimated to 3.2 Journal Impact Factor/DKK million. A panel of international experts reviewed the outcome of funding by the Danish Heart Foundation, and concluded that the number of publications and their impact factor was adequate in relation to the economic input.

This study reports a bibliometric analysis of 860 scientific publications of which 763 are papers in scientific journals emanating from departments of clinical physiology and nuclear medicine in Denmark in the years 1989-1994. The number of publications decreased significantly over time. The 763 papers were published in 239 different scientific journals, 80% in journals with an official "impact factor". The average impact per paper remained almost constant over time and was significantly above the national average. A close relationship was found between the number of papers from a department and its cumulated impact. In an analysis of 217 papers a direct relation was found between the journal impact factor and the citation factor. A linear relation was found between cumulated citations and time, and the number of citations per year reached a maximum 3-7 years after publication, whereas the general maximum for all medical specialties is 2-3 years. It is concluded that the total number of scientific papers from Danish departments of clinical physiology & nuclear medicine fell in the years 1989-1991, but the impact per paper was almost constant and above the national average. There seems to be a good agreement between journal impact factor and overall citation frequency in papers from clinical physiology & nuclear medicine.