Peer review of articles on global burden of disease

Ana Marušić and colleagues have identified another important factor contributing to the dearth of articles on leading causes of global death and disability in large Western medical journals, as described in our article.¹ It is unfortunate that few faculty members at Croatian medical schools have published in or served as reviewers for one such journal, The Lancet. These researchers live in a country where the burden of disease is linked to the effects of war, and they could therefore make an important contribution to our understanding of this issue.

One way in which leading medical journals could improve representation of the global burden of disease would thus be to engage researchers in smaller countries such as Croatia, encouraging them to study important local issues such as the effects of war. Another would be to cultivate ties with smaller journals such as the Croatian Medical Journal. Moreover, if large Western medical journals were to begin better representing the global burden of disease in the articles they publish, researchers in smaller countries might become more interested in submitting their work to, or serving as reviewers for, these journals.

In the interim, we encourage researchers in smaller countries to continue to publish peer-reviewed studies relevant to local experience of disease in both smaller, local journals such as the Croatian Medical Journal and larger Western medical journals.

Jennifer Gold Paula A. Rochon Kunin–Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Toronto, Ont.