Journal rankings · indicator year 2021
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2021
Rheumatology journal rankings 2021
67 ranked journals · Subfield in Medicine
Rheumatology has 67 ranked journals in 2021. The median journal has an OJR of 0.96, below the world average of 1.00, down 0.03 on 2020; Q1 starts at OJR 1.47. The top three are Arthritis & Rheumatology, Autoimmunity Reviews, and The Lancet Rheumatology.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2021. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Medicine (42)
- Surgery985
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine362
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health303
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine297
- Oncology239
- Infectious Diseases234
- Epidemiology204
- Neurology172
- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging170
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism163
- Physiology163
- Psychiatry and Mental health145
- Rheumatology67
Show all 42 subfields
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine124
- Ophthalmology103
- Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health101
- Dermatology99
- Hematology83
- Obstetrics and Gynecology83
- Nephrology61
- Pharmacology54
- Complementary and alternative medicine50
- Reproductive Medicine49
- Emergency Medicine45
- Geriatrics and Gerontology39
- Rehabilitation37
- Otorhinolaryngology35
- Hepatology29
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine26
- Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine24
- Immunology and Allergy23
- Genetics20
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine14
- Urology14
- Gastroenterology6
- Health Informatics5
- Internal Medicine5
- Transplantation3
- Family Practice2
- Biochemistry1
- Anatomy0
- Microbiology0
67 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2020. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2018–2020 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2012 to 2021. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Arthritis & RheumatologyWiley · United States | 3.15Q1 | 10.55 2.26 up from 2020 | 848 | 52% | $5,190 | ||
2Autoimmunity ReviewsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 2.91Q1 | 14.50 5.29 up from 2020 | 489 | 42% | $4,730 | ||
3The Lancet RheumatologyElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 2.55Q1 | 14.92 10.85 up from 2020 | 225 | 61% | $7,280 | ||
4Best Practice & Research Clinical RheumatologyElsevier BV · Netherlands | 2.30Q1 | 6.15 0.94 up from 2020 | 186 | 37% | $4,180 | ||
5Osteoarthritis and CartilageElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 2.24Q1 | 6.84 0.75 up from 2020 | 584 | 100% | $3,700 | ||
6Current Rheumatology ReportsSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 2.03Q1 | 5.60 0.18 up from 2020 | 247 | 52% | $4,490 | ||
7Arthritis Research & TherapyOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 2.03Q1 | 6.14 0.48 up from 2020 | 853 | 100% | $3,690 | ||
8RMD OpenOABMJ · United Kingdom | 1.99Q1 | 6.43 0.55 up from 2020 | 345 | 100% | $2,391 | ||
9Current Opinion in RheumatologyLippincott Williams & Wilkins · United States | 1.85Q1 | 5.62 1.04 up from 2020 | 255 | 34% | — | ||
10Arthritis Care & ResearchWiley · United States | 1.81Q1 | 4.93 0.28 up from 2020 | 817 | 55% | $4,640 | ||
11Nature Reviews RheumatologyNature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 1.73Q1 | 8.54 3.11 up from 2020 | 616 | 21% | — | ||
12European Cells and MaterialsOASwitzerland | 1.65Q1 | 4.88 0.26 up from 2020 | 119 | 100% | $1,000 | ||
13Lupus Science & MedicineOABMJ · United Kingdom | 1.65Q1 | 4.98 0.13 up from 2020 | 130 | 100% | $2,391 | ||
14Seminars in Arthritis and RheumatismElsevier BV · United States | 1.59Q1 | 5.58 0.41 down from 2020 | 478 | 50% | $4,370 | ||
15Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal DiseaseOASAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.59Q1 | 4.69 1.16 down from 2020 | 137 | 100% | $2,650 | ||
16Expert Review of Clinical ImmunologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.48Q1 | 5.71 0.79 up from 2020 | 314 | 33% | — | ||
17Rheumatology and TherapyOAAdis, Springer Healthcare · United Kingdom | 1.47Q1 | 4.35 0.35 up from 2020 | 173 | 100% | $7,400 | ||
18ACR Open RheumatologyOAWiley · United States | 1.47Q2 | 3.82 1.18 up from 2020 | 180 | 100% | $3,550 | ||
19Lara D. VeekenOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 1.43Q2 | 4.06 0.51 down from 2020 | 1,797 | 44% | $4,597 | ||
20BMC RheumatologyOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 1.38Q2 | 3.19 0.91 down from 2020 | 156 | 100% | $2,190 | ||
21Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North AmericaElsevier BV · United States | 1.31Q2 | 2.87 0.27 down from 2020 | 139 | 20% | $3,500 | ||
22Journal of Translational AutoimmunityOAElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.31Q2 | 4.77 3.64 up from 2020 | 71 | 100% | $3,180 | ||
23Autoimmunity HighlightsOASpringer Science+Business Media · Italy | 1.31Q2 | 4.16 2.25 up from 2020 | 40 | 100% | $1,990 | ||
24Revista Brasileira de ReumatologiaOAElsevier BV · Brazil | 1.20Q2 | 3.70 1.11 up from 2020 | 153 | 100% | $2,490 | ||
25The Journal of RheumatologyThe Journal of Rheumatology Publishing Company Limited · Canada | 1.19Q2 | 3.38 0.14 down from 2020 | 975 | 71% | — | ||
26Open Access Rheumatology Research and ReviewsOADove Medical Press · New Zealand | 1.18Q2 | 2.87 0.21 down from 2020 | 96 | 100% | $2,320 | ||
27Clinical RheumatologySpringer Science+Business Media · Belgium | 1.15Q2 | 3.74 0.52 up from 2020 | 1,481 | 35% | $4,890 | ||
28Rheumatology InternationalSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 1.14Q2 | 4.21 1.34 up from 2020 | 797 | 51% | $4,990 | ||
29CartilageSAGE Publishing · United States | 1.12Q2 | 2.90 0.17 up from 2020 | 348 | 100% | $2,650 | ||
30Modern RheumatologyOxford University Press · United States | 1.00Q2 | 2.66 0.04 up from 2020 | 453 | 23% | $3,208 | ||
31Annals of the Rheumatic DiseasesBMJ · United Kingdom | 0.99Q2 | 3.34 1.21 up from 2020 | 4,780 | 66% | $4,870 | ||
32Connective Tissue ResearchTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.98Q2 | 2.94 0.07 up from 2020 | 207 | 27% | — | ||
33LupusSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 0.96Q2 | 2.56 0.44 down from 2020 | 739 | 24% | $4,150 | ||
34Clinical Medicine Insights Arthritis and Musculoskeletal DisordersOASAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 0.96Q2 | 2.89 1.24 up from 2020 | 53 | 100% | $4,150 | ||
35Joint Bone SpineElsevier BV · France | 0.91Q3 | 2.43 0.70 down from 2020 | 425 | 39% | $3,020 | ||
36International Journal of RheumatologyHindawi Publishing Corporation · United Kingdom | 0.90Q3 | 2.60 0.28 down from 2020 | 41 | 100% | $950 | ||
37International Journal of Rheumatic DiseasesWiley · Australia | 0.86Q3 | 2.49 0.20 up from 2020 | 676 | 28% | $3,700 | ||
38Osteoarthritis and Cartilage OpenOAElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.81Q3 | 2.12 1.02 up from 2020 | 85 | 100% | $1,610 | ||
39Reumatologia/RheumatologyOATermedia Publishing House · Poland | 0.80Q3 | 2.04 0.64 down from 2020 | 202 | 100% | — | ||
40Rheumatology Advances in PracticeOAOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 0.70Q3 | 2.29 0.54 up from 2020 | 153 | 100% | $2,974 | ||
41Scandinavian Journal of RheumatologyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.69Q3 | 1.95 0.12 down from 2020 | 275 | 44% | — | ||
42International Urogynecology JournalSpringer Science+Business Media · United Kingdom | 0.69Q3 | 1.93 0.32 down from 2020 | 959 | 36% | $3,790 | ||
43Musculoskeletal CareWiley · United Kingdom | 0.67Q3 | 1.85no change | 189 | 45% | $3,240 | ||
44European Journal of RheumatologyOAAVES Yayincilik · Türkiye | 0.63Q3 | 2.07 0.30 up from 2020 | 220 | 100% | — | ||
45ReumatismoOAPAGEPress (Italy) · Italy | 0.55Q3 | 1.42 0.03 up from 2020 | 103 | 100% | — | ||
46UrogynecologyLippincott Williams & Wilkins · United States | 0.54Q3 | 1.39no change | 443 | 19% | — | ||
47Current Rheumatology ReviewsBentham Science Publishers · Netherlands | 0.53Q3 | 1.45 0.05 down from 2020 | 110 | 7% | — | ||
48Alexandria Journal of MedicineOAElsevier BV | 0.51Q3 | 1.16 0.26 down from 2020 | 89 | 100% | $750 | ||
49Archives of RheumatologyOATürkiye | 0.46Q3 | 1.08 0.56 down from 2020 | 257 | 100% | — | ||
50Zeitschrift für RheumatologieSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 0.40Q3 | 1.47 0.24 up from 2020 | 401 | 54% | $3,390 |
Subfields of Medicine, with Rheumatology highlighted.
- Surgery985
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine362
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health303
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine297
- Oncology239
- Infectious Diseases234
- Epidemiology204
- Neurology172
- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging170
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism163
- Physiology163
- Psychiatry and Mental health145
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine124
- Ophthalmology103
- Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health101
- Dermatology99
- Hematology83
- Obstetrics and Gynecology83
- Rheumatology67
- Nephrology61
- Pharmacology54
- Complementary and alternative medicine50
- Reproductive Medicine49
- Emergency Medicine45
- Geriatrics and Gerontology39
- Rehabilitation37
- Otorhinolaryngology35
- Hepatology29
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine26
- Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine24
- Immunology and Allergy23
- Genetics20
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine14
- Urology14
- Gastroenterology6
- Health Informatics5
- Internal Medicine5
- Transplantation3
- Family Practice2
- Biochemistry1
- Anatomy0
- Microbiology0
Journals
Citations made in 2021. Corpus-wide, 87.7% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
24 additional Rheumatology journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2018–2020, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2021. Publication window: 2018–2020. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 67
- Window papers (baseline)
- 62,541 +11.4% from indicator year 2018
- Median OJR
- 0.9569 +9.6% from indicator year 2018
- Rising journals (2025)
- 6
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2018–2020 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 20 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 30 | 32 | 37 | 38 | 38 | 39 | 43 | 49 | 53 | 56 | 59 | 58 | 58 | 65 | 65 | 67 | 69 | 67 | 65 | 67 | 67 | 70 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 17,821 | 20,685 | 22,377 | 24,459 | 25,269 | 27,867 | 30,643 | 33,672 | 36,348 | 39,439 | 42,988 | 46,086 | 48,179 | 49,400 | 51,214 | 53,341 | 54,578 | 55,366 | 56,123 | 57,306 | 59,410 | 62,541 | 65,720 | 67,501 | 67,701 | 69,555 | |
| Median OJR | 0.91 | 0.782 | 0.862 | 0.81 | 0.884 | 1.05 | 0.855 | 0.803 | 0.92 | 0.891 | 0.7969 | 0.888 | 0.877 | 0.95 | 0.879 | 0.847 | 0.9574 | 0.889 | 0.873 | 0.93 | 0.99 | 0.9569 | 0.869 | 0.851 | 0.785 | 0.7970 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.