Open Access Publishing and Subsequent Citations Among Articles in Major Cardiovascular Journals

Background: While open access publishing among cardiovascular journals has increased in scope over the last decade, the relationship between open access and article citation volume remains unclear.

Methods: We evaluated the association between open access publishing and citation number in 2017 among 4 major cardiovascular journals. Articles indexed to PubMed with ≥5 citations were identified among the following journals: Circulation, European Heart Journal, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and JAMA Cardiology. Multivariable Poisson regression models were adjusted for journal and article type.

Results: Of the 916 articles published in 2017, original investigations accounted for most articles (66.7%), followed by reviews (14.5%), guideline/scientific statements (8.4%), research letters (3.7%), viewpoints (3.7%), and editorials (2.9%). Among all articles, 43% (n = 391) were open access. Citation number was higher among open access articles compared with those with subscription access (14 [25^th-75^th percentile: 9-23] vs 11 [25^th-75^th percentile: 7-17]; P < .001). Open access status was significantly associated with higher number of citations after multivariable adjustment (β coefficient: +0.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.38-0.45, P < .001). Open access articles had consistently higher citations compared with subscription access articles across the 3 most frequent article types.

Conclusion: Among contemporary articles published in major cardiovascular journals, open access publishing accounted for over 40% of articles and was significantly associated with increased short-term citations. Further research is required to assess the variation in long-term citation rates based on open access publishing status.