JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

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

Objective:

We aimed to determine the engagement patterns of publications in GI 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 GI journals in 1/1/2012-12/31/2012 tweeted by the official journal account with those that were not. Multivariable analysis using linear regression was performed to control for journal impact factor, time since publication, article type, frequency of re-posting by other users (“re-tweets”), and media addition to tweets. Secondary analyses were performed to assess the associations between article type or subtopic and likelihood of social media promotion/engagement.

Results:

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=0.007). There was significant association between article type and number of re-tweets on ANOVA (p<0.0001), with guidelines/technical reviews (mean difference: 1.04, CI 0.22-1.87;p<0.05) and meta-analyses/systemic reviews (mean difference: 1.03, CI 0.35-1.70;p<0.05) being re-tweeted more than basic science. Manuscript subtopics most frequently promoted include motility/functional bowel disease (OR=3.84; CI: 1.93-7.64;p=0.0001) and education (OR=4.69; CI: 1.62-13.58;p=0.0044) while basic science papers were less likely tweeted (OR=0.154; CI: 0.07-0.34;p<0.0001).

Conclusions:

Tweeting of GI 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.