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. 2021 May 14;23(5):e25252.
doi: 10.2196/25252.

The Patterns and Impact of Social Media Exposure of Journal Publications in Gastroenterology: Retrospective Cohort Study

Austin Lee Chiang #  1 , Loren Galler Rabinowitz #  2 , Javid Alakbarli #  3 , Walter W Chan #  1
Affiliations

The Patterns and Impact of Social Media Exposure of Journal Publications in Gastroenterology: Retrospective Cohort Study

Austin Lee Chiang et al. J Med Internet Res. .

Abstract

Background: Medical journals increasingly promote published content through social media platforms such as Twitter. However, gastroenterology journals still rank below average in social media engagement.

Objective: We aimed to determine the engagement patterns of publications in gastroenterology journals on Twitter and evaluate the impact of tweets on citations.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study comparing the 3-year citations of all full-length articles published in five major gastroenterology journals from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012, tweeted by official journal accounts with those that were not. Multivariate analysis using linear regression was performed to control for journal impact factor, time since publication, article type, frequency of reposting by other users ("retweets"), and media addition to tweets. Secondary analyses were performed to assess the associations between article type or subtopic and the likelihood of social media promotion/engagement.

Results: A total of 1666 articles were reviewed, with 477 tweeted by the official journal account. Tweeting an article independently predicted increased citations after controlling for potential confounders (β coefficient=13.09; P=.007). There was significant association between article type and number of retweets on analysis of variance (ANOVA) (P<.001), with guidelines/technical reviews (mean difference 1.04, 95% CI 0.22-1.87; P<.001) and meta-analyses/systemic reviews (mean difference 1.03, 95% CI 0.35-1.70; P<.001) being retweeted more than basic science articles. The manuscript subtopics most frequently promoted included motility/functional bowel disease (odds ratio [OR] 3.84, 95% CI 1.93-7.64; P<.001) and education (OR 4.69, 95% CI 1.62-13.58; P=.004), while basic science papers were less likely tweeted (OR 0.154, 95% CI 0.07-0.34; P<.001).

Conclusions: Tweeting of gastroenterology journal articles independently predicted higher 3-year citations. Wider adoption of social media to increase reach and measure uptake of published research should be considered.

Keywords: gastroenterology journals; gastroenterology research; journal citations; social media.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of citations between articles that were tweeted and those that were not tweeted. Primary tweets: analysis of all manuscripts (n=1666) comparing tweeted articles and nontweeted articles; retweets: analysis of all tweeted manuscripts (n=477) comparing articles that were retweeted at least once and articles without retweets.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of publications (both tweeted and nontweeted) in 2012 by subtopic among the five journals included. IBD: inflammatory bowel disease.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean number of retweets by article type.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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