Little mental disorder research in general medical journals in low- and middle-income countries

Abstract

To the Editor: Research on mental disorders undertaken in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries is rarely published in leading psychiatric journals published in high-income (HI) countries. An examination of the extent to which high-impact general medical journals provide an alternative forum for articles on mental disorders revealed that fewer of these articles are published in LAMI than HI countries. There is increasing recognition of the global economic and human burden imposed by mental disorders. This has resulted in a renewed appreciation of the importance of mental health research in both First-World countries and nations classified according to World Bank Criteria as LAMI countries. At the same time there is evidence that research on mental disorders undertaken in developing nations is rarely published in leading psychiatric journals.