Bibliometrics of Fifty Most-Cited Articles on the Mental Health of Immigrants Living in the United States

The premise of our study was to identify the 50 most frequently cited articles on the mental and behavioral health of immigrant and refugee populations in the USA using the Thomas Reuters’ WOS database. Articles were reviewed for inclusion by a panel comprised of two specialist physicians and a political scientist. Citations ranged from 69 to 520. Almost half of all articles (n = 23) focus on Hispanic populations. 32 articles employed a cross-sectional study design. Sample sizes ranged from 8,000,000 to 20. Over half of all (n = 30) articles were published between 2000 and 2012 in 22 journals, covering 38 research areas. The total number of institutional affiliations was 148, averaging at 3 per article. Our recommendations state: diversify sampling in terms of ethnic and racial backgrounds; develop a uniform instrument for immigrant and refugee mental health; and conduct comparative studies to examine the differences in the mental health among diverse communities.