World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Nature Reviews Rheumatology
H-index 79

Nature Reviews Rheumatology

1759-4790

Published by: Springer

https://www.nature.com/nrrheum/

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Immunology 18 88 132 50
Medicine 107 211 242 69

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 326
Documents by Best Scientists*: 319
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 11
SCIMAGO H-index: 198
SCIMAGO SJR: 5.507
Impact Factor: 32.7

Overview

Top Research Topics at Nature Reviews Rheumatology?

The journal primarily tackles Immunology, Internal medicine, Rheumatoid arthritis, MEDLINE and Arthritis. The research on Immunology discussed in the journal draws on the closely related field of Disease. Many of the research works in Internal medicine, specifically Rheumatology, closely connected to disciplines like In patient.

The journal links adjacent topics like Rheumatoid arthritis with Tumor necrosis factor alpha. While it focused on MEDLINE, it was also able to explore topics like Text mining and Intensive care medicine. The research on Intensive care medicine tackled can also make contributions to studies in the areas of Physical therapy and Clinical trial.

Physical therapy research presented in Nature Reviews Rheumatology encompasses a variety of subjects, including Osteoarthritis and Alternative medicine. The study on Osteoarthritis presented in it intersects with subjects under the field of Bioinformatics.

  • Immunology (27.95%)
  • Internal medicine (20.55%)
  • Rheumatoid arthritis (18.43%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Role of proinflammatory cytokines in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis (1377 citations)
  • The role of synovitis in pathophysiology and clinical symptoms of osteoarthritis (746 citations)
  • Mechanisms of disease: is osteoporosis the obesity of bone? (738 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Nature Reviews Rheumatology:

The journal publications mostly deal with topics like Immunology, Disease, Arthritis, Inflammation and Rheumatoid arthritis. The most cited publications explore research in Disease alongside concepts in Physical therapy and other areas of study in Osteoarthritis and Clinical trial. The journal papers hold forums on Rheumatoid arthritis that merge themes from other disciplines such as Tumor necrosis factor alpha and Pharmacology.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Internal medicine
  • Disease
  • Gene

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The journal mainly deals with areas of study such as MEDLINE, Immunology, Internal medicine, Intensive care medicine and Rheumatoid arthritis. The close relationship between Disease and Epigenetics is one of the points of interest dissected in MEDLINE research. The studies tackled, which mainly focus on Immunology, apply to Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as well.

The works on Internal medicine deal in particular with Rheumatology. Issues in Intensive care medicine were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Guideline, Clinical trial, Epidemiology and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nature Reviews Rheumatology focuses on Rheumatoid arthritis research which is adjacent to topics in Arthritis.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Rheumatic disease and COVID-19: epidemiology and outcomes. (39 citations)
  • Mechanisms and therapeutic implications of cellular senescence in osteoarthritis. (28 citations)
  • Non-surgical management of knee osteoarthritis: comparison of ESCEO and OARSI 2019 guidelines. (24 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Nature Reviews Rheumatology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Sarah Onuora (237 papers) published 30 papers at the last edition, 23 less than at the previous edition,
  • Jessica McHugh (153 papers) published 20 papers at the last edition, 8 less than at the previous edition,
  • Joanna Collison (119 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Jenny Buckland (92 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Joanna Clarke (60 papers) published 27 papers at the last edition, 6 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Nature Reviews Rheumatology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Charité (52 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • National Institutes of Health (47 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 4 more than at the previous edition,
  • Stanford University (44 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (38 papers) published 7 papers at the last edition, 4 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (36 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 49.72% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 32.58% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 22.47% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 14.61% of all publications and 30.34% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Top Publications

  • Mechanisms of action of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine: implications for rheumatology.

    Eva Schrezenmeier;Thomas Dörner

    (2020)
    1494 Citations
  • Restoring synovial homeostasis in rheumatoid arthritis by targeting fibroblast-like synoviocytes

    Gyrid Nygaard;Gary S. Firestein

    (2020)
    853 Citations
  • Synovial inflammation in osteoarthritis progression

    (2022)
    703 Citations
  • Translating IL-6 biology into effective treatments.

    Ernest Hs Choy;Fabrizio De Benedetti;Tsutomu Takeuchi;Misato Hashizume

    (2020)
    637 Citations
  • Global epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis

    (2022)
    572 Citations
  • Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA): updated treatment recommendations for psoriatic arthritis 2021

    (2022)
    519 Citations
  • Fibromyalgia: an update on clinical characteristics, aetiopathogenesis and treatment

    Piercarlo Sarzi-Puttini;Valeria Giorgi;Daniela Marotto;Fabiola Atzeni

    (2020)
    488 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

For those interested in the medical field but seeking alternative routes to becoming a healthcare professional, numerous online options offer flexible and accelerated pathways. One popular choice is the accelerated CMA program, which allows students to become certified medical assistants in as little as six weeks. This can be an excellent entry point for gaining hands-on clinical experience quickly.

Nurses looking to advance their qualifications might explore the easiest DNP program online, designed for those pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree with flexible scheduling and streamlined requirements. These programs help registered nurses elevate their expertise without the constraints of traditional campus-based schooling.

Administrative roles in healthcare also offer promising careers. Obtaining a medical coding and billing certification can open doors to well-paying jobs that support the healthcare system’s financial operations. Many affordable online courses prepare students efficiently for industry certifications.

Lastly, those aspiring to become nurses can consider enrolling in nursing colleges with high acceptance rates. These institutions provide greater access to nursing education, helping address the demand for qualified nurses nationwide through more accessible admissions.

Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal

Recently Published Articles