A scientometric analysis of materials of 10 All-Russian conferences 'Modern problems of somnology' (1998-2016)

Abstract

To analyze proceedings of the I-X Conferences 'Modern problems of somnology'. The authors have analyzed 888 abstracts from the abstract books of the conferences held from 1998 to 2016 in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. The territorial, sectoral and scientific indicators of the activity of participants as well as longitudinal research trends were analyzed. Mathematical and statistical data analysis was carried out using the methods of descriptive statistics (95% confidence intervals) and χ2 tests. On average, 300 researchers from 6 countries and 14 regions of Russia participated in each conference, most from higher education (19), research (16) and medical (12) institutions. The highest number of publications were related to clinical somnology and sleep medicine (50% to different neurological conditions), the numeral material was included in 83% and statistical analysis was performed in 32.5%. A trend towards more active participation of research and medical institutions from all the country and involvement of new regions was observed. The interest to the clinical subjects, including treatment choices in sleep disorders as well as organizing aspects of sleep medicine, has been increasing. The number of studies on different aspects of sleep apnea has increased significantly as well. The features of scientific and clinical activity in the field of somnology presented in the materials of conferences are stable in terms of the institutional and territorial representation. It complies to international trends of research and clinical development. This allows better planning of the structure and main issues of the further conferences.