[Who funds research by Spanish dermatologists? Comparative analysis of articles published in 2008]

Background: References have been made in the literature to the funding of clinical trials by the pharmaceutical industry. Other types of funding, however, have been less well studied.

Objective: To describe the sources of funding for research by Spanish dermatology departments published in 2008.

Material and methods: A bibliometric study was performed of the research articles published by Spanish, French, and British dermatology departments and by Spanish rheumatology departments in 2008 according to MEDLINE records.

Results: Articles published by Spanish dermatology departments received funding in 36.4% of cases. This percentage is lower than that found for the other groups studied and remained low for all different types of funding. Statistically significant relationships were found between a higher percentage of funding and a higher level of evidence, as well as between a higher level of funding by the pharmaceutical industry and the publication of research into quality of life and pharmacological treatment. Inadequate declaration of funding was observed in 57.1% of articles from Spanish dermatology departments and the role of the sponsor was not declared in any article. Similar findings were obtained for the other groups studied.

Conclusions: The proportion of research articles published by Spanish dermatology departments that receive external funding is low, and this is associated with a lower level of scientific evidence. In order to obtain more external funding, we must improve our competitiveness.