A survey on retracted articles in the field of health sciences from 2001 to 2022 from Iran

BackgroundRetraction is the process of correcting literature and warning readers of publications that contain such serious flaws or erroneous data. A variety of reasons may lead to retraction of published articles. ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the characteristics of retracted articles from Iran in the field of health sciences. DesignRetrospective study SettingThis study was conducted on retracted articles in the field of health published by authors affiliated with Iranian organizations from 2001 to 2022. The Retraction Watch Database was used to extract the information from these articles. The following information was extracted: journal name, article type, institutions, country(s), date published, date retracted, authors number, and reasons for retraction. This data was evaluated using descriptive statistics. ResultsBetween 2001 and 2022, our search identified 348 retracted articles. The highest number of retractions belongs to Diagnostic Pathology and Tumor Biology journals. The highest numbers of retractions belong to 2016 and 2020, respectively. The highest number of retracted articles were published in 2015 and 2018, respectively. Different types of articles have been assigned different percentages: Research article (52.9%), clinical study (29.9%), conference abstract/paper (5.2%), review article (4.6%), case report (3.7%), and others (3.7%). The main reasons that led to retraction were investigation by journal/publisher, fake peer review, and concerns/issues about data. Malaysia, Bahrein, and India had the most cooperation with Iran in the retracted articles. The mean time between publication and retraction was 2.44 years and ranged between less than a year and 16 years. Institutions with the highest record of retraction are Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, and Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. ConclusionsInvestigation by journal/publisher, fake peer review, and concerns/issues about data were the most common reasons for retraction. The results of this study indicate that more attention is required from research ethics authorities in order to protect the integrity of published research.