Elie G. Karam, Ahmed Okasha, Natalija Trojanovic, Josleen Al Barathie, Dahlia Saab, Natasha Hakim and Nada Abbas

Abstract
Background The progressive improvement in the educational level of the Arab world has been accompanied
by a surge of scientifc productivity. Mental health research, especially in the last four decades, is one such endeavor.
Mental health research output over almost a century, from 1920 to 2018, is reviewed.
Method A literature review was conducted using PubMed, PsychInfo, Cochrane, and the IDRAAC search engine
to identify mental health publications over the past 100 years. Trends of mental health research were explored
over time with reference to country population and gross domestic product (GDP).
Results A total of 3373 articles were retrieved. The three countries with the highest number of mental health publications in the past century are Egypt, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and Lebanon, representing together 41.5%
of the productivity of all 22 Arab countries. The top producers also had the highest collaboration rates with other Arab
countries (20%) as well as non-Arab countries. The top three publishers per capita are Lebanon, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
When GDP was factored in, the top three countries are Lebanon, Palestine, and Tunisia. Most publications over the last
decade (80%) were in international non-local journals. The leading subjects of research were epidemiology, mood
disorders, obsessive compulsive behavior, and mental health services.
Conclusion Arab speaking countries have been increasing their mental health productivity over the past 100 years;
however, only a handful of those countries were relatively active. Those leaders also had the highest level of Arab
and international collaboration. Investing in regional and international collaborations is a solid recommendation
of this review.

Research in mental health in the Arab speaking world 1920 to 2018

Arab, Publications, Research, Past century