Health Areas › Musculoskeletal, Skin, Pain, and Autoimmune Diseases
Musculoskeletal, Skin, Pain, and Autoimmune Diseases
Area 14 in the list of seventeen published by the Saudi National Institute of Health in June 2025. Order follows SNIH's published list: that number is SNIH's own position for the area; it is not a ranking by this site and it says nothing about how much research this area should receive.
This area is matched to research by its subject headings, Musculoskeletal Diseases (C05); Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases (C17) except Breast Diseases (C17.800.090); Autoimmune Diseases (C20.111); Pain (C23.888.592.612; includes the Angina Pectoris headings and Dysmenorrhea, kept because overlap is allowed), and to disease burden by the WHO cause-to-area table v0.4. The match is partial, so the burden shown is the burden of selected WHO proxy causes and no ratio is given.
A paper or study can count in more than one area. Areas as published by the Saudi National Institute of Health (SNIH), June 2025, applied to 2021–2025 retrospectively, for description only. A Saudi affiliation is not the same as research on the Saudi population.
Partial. Burden of selected WHO proxy causes. The two shares are shown side by side with no ratio.
Order follows SNIH's published list: area 14 of seventeen.
Coverage Of The Underlying Corpus · 2021–2025
On the same selection, before the area filter. Papers without MeSH terms stay in this coverage line; they are never in any area or in the grey row. It describes the corpus, not how completely this area’s research is captured.
Papers without MeSH terms cannot be assigned to any area, so this profile is never a complete count of the area’s research, and it does not measure how completely that research is captured. Coverage: records captured by the named sources that meet the published eligibility rules; coverage is not exhaustive.
Eligible publications with MeSH terms
60.6%
PubMed with OpenAlex · 2021–2025
Eligible publications matched to any area
41.3%
PubMed with OpenAlex · 2021–2025
The Burden This Area Carries
Burden Share & Research Share
Burden: WHO Global Health Estimates, 2023 · research: 2021–2025
Share of national disease burden: burden of selected WHO proxy causes
Source: WHO Global Health Estimates, 2023, through the WHO cause-to-area table v0.4. All-age disability-adjusted life years for one named year.
11.8%
WHO · 2023
Research share among MeSH-indexed eligible publications
Eligible publications in this area, 2021–2025, divided by all eligible publications with MeSH terms in the same selection, before the area filter. Shares across the seventeen areas do not sum to 100%.
8.3%
of the eligible publications with MeSH terms · 2021–2025
Research-share-to-burden-share ratio
Shown because this area is a close match. A ratio of 1 means equal shares under these definitions; it does not establish adequate research effort or funding, and it carries no judgement about what the right figure would be.
Not shown. Not yet computed, below the threshold for a reliable figure, or the only source is too old to print. The reason is always given.
—
Not shown the ratio is given only for a close match.
Recorded Research
Three Counts, Never One Total
Papers and registrations are counted separately, never added together.
A paper, a clinical trial and an observational registration are different kinds of record, so this area carries three separate counts. They are never added together.
Papers and registrations are different kinds of record. They are counted separately and never added together, anywhere on this site. Counts describe recorded activity; they do not assess quality, benefit or performance.
Registrations are ClinicalTrials.gov records; a listed site doesn't prove recruitment in Saudi Arabia.
Journals that follow ICMJE policy require clinical trials to be registered before enrolment begins, in ClinicalTrials.gov or another accepted registry; observational studies have no such requirement, so registered observational studies are a small, selective part of observational research. These figures count studies recorded in ClinicalTrials.gov; they do not measure total research volume, study completion or financial investment.
Trials and observational studies are those listing a Saudi site. A listed site does not prove that participants were recruited in Saudi Arabia. Withdrawn studies and expanded-access records are not counted.
Publications
PubMed and OpenAlex · research-related papers with a Saudi affiliation carrying Musculoskeletal Diseases (C05); Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases (C17) except Breast Diseases (C17.800.090); Autoimmune Diseases (C20.111); Pain (C23.888.592.612; includes the Angina Pectoris headings and Dysmenorrhea, kept because overlap is allowed) · 2021–2025
PubMed with OpenAlex · 2021–2025 provisional
Clinical trials
ClinicalTrials.gov · interventional, listing a Saudi site · 2021–2025
ClinicalTrials.gov · 2021–2025 provisional
Observational studies
ClinicalTrials.gov · observational registrations listing a Saudi site · 2021–2025
ClinicalTrials.gov · 2021–2025 provisional
Research-related papers in this area, by year of earliest publication. The axis starts at zero and ends at 1,000.
Research-related papers in this area, 2021–2025, in the five study groups. The axis starts at zero and ends at 2,000.
Trials in this area, 2021–2025. A trial registered across two phases counts in both. The axis starts at zero and ends at 100.
Trials in this area, 2021–2025, by status as the registry records it on the day ClinicalTrials.gov processed the data. The axis starts at zero and ends at 100. Statuses open largest first.
Observational studies in this area, 2021–2025, by status as the registry records it. The axis starts at zero and ends at 10. Statuses open largest first.
Industry
Industry In This Area
The area's three counts narrowed to industry: research papers coded industry-involved, industry-led clinical trials and industry-led observational studies, each with its share of the area's own count. They are three kinds of record and are never added together.
Industry in papers comes from each paper's own industry code; industry in registrations comes from the lead sponsor. They are different measures of different records and are never combined.
Industry in registrations means a lead sponsor that is a company making or selling health products (drugs, vaccines, biotechnology, devices, diagnostics, health software or medical nutrition), as the industry guide defines it in its section two, or a contract research organisation with such a company listed as collaborator. Hospital groups and other providers that ClinicalTrials.gov labels “industry” are not counted. Withdrawn studies are not counted.
Journals that follow ICMJE policy require clinical trials to be registered before enrolment begins, in ClinicalTrials.gov or another accepted registry; observational studies have no such requirement, so registered observational studies are a small, selective part of observational research. These figures count studies recorded in ClinicalTrials.gov; they do not measure total research volume, study completion or financial investment.
Counts describe recorded activity; they do not measure investment, quality or performance.
Industry involvement in papers is a lower bound.
Industry involvement is identified from the paper's own record and registration; it does not establish financial investment and is a lower bound.
Industry-involved publications
3% of the 3,393 research papers in the area
PubMed with OpenAlex · 2021–2025 provisional
Industry-led clinical trials
25% of the 134 clinical trials in the area
ClinicalTrials.gov · 2021–2025 provisional
Industry-led observational studies
33% of the 18 observational studies in the area
ClinicalTrials.gov · 2021–2025 provisional
Companies
Companies Leading Studies In This Area
Every company credited with at least one industry-led clinical trial or observational study in this area, 2021–2025, with both counts: two counts, never one total. Each study is credited to one company, exactly as the industry-led counts decide it: its lead sponsor or, for a contract research organisation's study, its company collaborator listed in the registration. So the companies' studies add up to the area's industry-led counts. A study in several areas counts in each. Names are shown as registered, with no grouping into parent companies.
There is no rank column. The list opens with the most clinical trials, ties A–Z. Every count above zero opens its records.
Only studies listing a Saudi site are counted. Industry in registrations means a lead sponsor that is a company making or selling health products (drugs, vaccines, biotechnology, devices, diagnostics, health software or medical nutrition), as the industry guide defines it in its section two, or a contract research organisation with such a company listed as collaborator. Hospital groups and other providers that ClinicalTrials.gov labels “industry” are not counted. Withdrawn studies are not counted.
Journals that follow ICMJE policy require clinical trials to be registered before enrolment begins, in ClinicalTrials.gov or another accepted registry; observational studies have no such requirement, so registered observational studies are a small, selective part of observational research. These figures count studies recorded in ClinicalTrials.gov; they do not measure total research volume, study completion or financial investment.
The counts describe registered activity; they do not measure investment, quality or performance.
Showing 2021–2025 provisional
Registrations are ClinicalTrials.gov records; a listed site doesn't prove recruitment in Saudi Arabia.
A listed site does not prove that participants were recruited in Saudi Arabia. Withdrawn studies and expanded-access records are not counted.
| Company | Clinical trials | Observational studies |
|---|---|---|
| Sanofi | ||
| Novartis Pharmaceuticals | ||
| AbbVie | ||
| Inozyme Pharma | 0 | |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 0 | |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 0 | |
| Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 0 | |
| Alpine Immune Sciences Inc, A Subsidiary of Vertex | 0 | |
| Amgen | 0 | |
| argenx | 0 | |
| Biogen | 0 | |
| KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. | 0 | |
| Kyverna Therapeutics | 0 | |
| Novo Nordisk A/S | ||
| Pharvaris Netherlands B.V. | 0 | |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc | 0 | |
| AstraZeneca | 0 |
Institutions
Institutions In This Area
Every institution on the approved list with at least one research-related publication, clinical trial or observational study in this area, 2021–2025. Three counts, never one total: a paper, a clinical trial and an observational registration are different kinds of record.
They are counted exactly as on Institutions & Clusters: publications in full; a parent institution's row also counts its units' papers and studies, so rows overlap and are never added together; clinical trials and observational studies count registrations listing the institution as a site, and a listed site does not prove that participants were recruited there. Institutions are named as OpenAlex records them.
There is no rank column. The list opens with the most publications, ties A–Z; the switch orders it by clinical trials, observational studies or A–Z. Every count above zero opens its records. No citation measure is given here.
78 of the area's 3,393 research papers have no Saudi institution identified and count in no institution · PubMed with OpenAlex · 2021–2025 provisional
of
| Institution | Publications | Clinical trials | Observational studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Saud University | |||
| King Abdulaziz University | |||
| King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre | 0 | ||
| King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences | 0 | 0 | |
| King Khalid University | 0 | ||
| Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University | |||
| Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University | 0 | ||
| King Abdullah International Medical Research Center | 0 | ||
| National Guard Health Affairs | 0 | 0 | |
| Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University | |||
| Jazan University | |||
| Umm al-Qura University | 0 | ||
| Qassim University | 0 | ||
| Alfaisal University | 0 | ||
| Taibah University | 0 | ||
| King Abdulaziz Medical City | 0 | ||
| Jouf University | 0 | ||
| King Fahd Medical City | |||
| Taif University | 0 | ||
| Ministry of Health | 0 | 0 | |
| King Saud Medical City | 0 | ||
| King Faisal University | 0 | 0 | |
| Majmaah University | 0 | ||
| Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital | 0 | 0 | |
| Najran University | 0 | 0 | |
| Shaqra University | 0 | 0 | |
| University of Ha'il | 0 | ||
| University of Tabuk | 0 | ||
| University of Jeddah | 0 | 0 | |
| Imam Mohammad ibn Saud Islamic University | 0 | 0 | |
| Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences | 0 | 0 | |
| Al Baha University | 0 | 0 | |
| Security Forces Hospital | 0 | ||
| King Fahad Specialist Hospital (location not recorded) | 0 | 0 | |
| Jeddah First Health Cluster | 0 | ||
| Batterjee Medical College | 0 | ||
| King Abdul Aziz University Hospital | 0 | 0 | |
| University of Bisha | 0 | 0 | |
| Northern Border University | 0 | 0 | |
| Almaarefa University | 0 | 0 | |
| King Fahd Hospital of the University | 0 | ||
| Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia) | 0 | 0 | |
| Saudi Aramco Medical Services Organization | 0 | 0 | |
| King Abdulaziz Hospital (Jeddah First Health Cluster) | 0 | 0 | |
| King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital | 0 | 0 | |
| King Abdullah University of Science and Technology | 0 | 0 | |
| Riyadh Elm University | 0 | ||
| King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital | 0 | ||
| King Khalid University Hospital | 0 | 0 | |
| Maternity and Children's Hospital (location not recorded) | 0 | 0 | |
| Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies | 0 | 0 | |
| King Abdullah Medical City | 0 | ||
| King Fahad Hospital Jeddah | 0 | 0 | |
| Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Hospital | 0 | 0 | |
| Prince Sultan University | 0 | 0 | |
| Armed Forces Hospital (location not recorded) | 0 | 0 | |
| King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology | 0 | 0 | |
| Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences | 0 | 0 | |
| Armed Forces Hospital Southern Region | 0 | ||
| King Fahd Military Medical Complex | |||
| University of Hafr Al-Batin | 0 | 0 | |
| East Jeddah Hospital | 0 | 0 | |
| Saudi Food and Drug Authority | 0 | 0 | |
| Qatif Central Hospital | 0 | ||
| Hera General Hospital | 0 | 0 | |
| Sulaiman Al Rajhi Colleges | 0 | 0 | |
| King Fahad Central Hospital (location not recorded) | 0 | 0 | |
| King Fahad Hospital Hufūf | 0 | 0 | |
| Saudi Electronic University | 0 | 0 | |
| Asir Central Hospital | 0 | 0 | |
| Ministry of Defense | 0 | 0 | |
| Buraydah Colleges | 0 | 0 | |
| Dar Al Uloom University | 0 | ||
| King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | 0 | 0 | |
| King Salman Center for Disability Research | 0 | 0 | |
| Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University | 0 | 0 | |
| Naif Arab University for Security Sciences | 0 | 0 | |
| Dhahran Health Center | 0 | 0 | |
| King Abdulaziz Hospital (location not recorded) | 0 | 0 | |
| Mohammed Almana College for Medical Sciences | 0 | 0 | |
| Northern Area Armed Forces Hospital | 0 | 0 | |
| Dammam Central Hospital | 0 | 0 | |
| Effat University | 0 | 0 | |
| International Medical Center in Jeddah | 0 | ||
| King Khaled Hospital (location not recorded) | 0 | 0 | |
| Soliman Fakeeh Hospital | 0 | ||
| Al-Thagher General Hospital | 0 | ||
| Fahd bin Sultan University | 0 | 0 | |
| Islamic University of Madinah | 0 | 0 | |
| Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu | 0 | 0 | |
| Al-Farabi College | 0 | 0 | |
| Al-Ghad International Health Sciences Colleges | 0 | 0 | |
| Arab East Colleges | 0 | 0 | |
| Dar Al-Hekma University | 0 | 0 | |
| Eye Center (location not recorded) | 0 | 0 | |
| Magrabi Hospitals and Centers | 0 | ||
| Ministry of Education | 0 | 0 | |
| North Private College of Nursing | 0 | 0 | |
| Onaizah Colleges | 0 | 0 | |
| Saudi Commission for Health Specialties | 0 | 0 | |
| Saudi Health Council | 0 | 0 | |
| Saudi Water Authority | 0 | 0 | |
| University of Business and Technology | 0 | 0 |
Clinical Trials
Clinical Trials By Intervention Type
The area's clinical trials, 2021–2025, by ClinicalTrials.gov's intervention type, with the industry-led part. A trial with several intervention types counts in each, so the bars are never added together and can sum to more than the area's 134 trials. “Other” is the registry's own type; it comes last, as “Not recorded” would. The list opens largest first, ties A–Z. Each count above zero opens its records. Observational studies are not shown by type.
The axis starts at zero and ends at 100.
All trials Industry-led trials
ClinicalTrials.gov · 2021–2025 provisional
National Health Facts · Saudi Arabia
Musculoskeletal, Skin, Pain, and Autoimmune: National Health Facts
National health facts checked against their sources: 4 November 2026 to 5 November 2026.
Each card names its source in short; its ⓘ gives the full source. The full view below holds every fact with its full source.
Estimate. Estimated or modelled by its source, not counted directly.
National figures for all residents unless stated.
At A Glance
50%
of this area's burden is from back and neck pain, the 3rd largest cause of lost healthy life nationally
Estimate WHO · 2023
Estimate WHO Global Health Estimates, 2023 · 2023
24%
of this area's burden is from skin diseases
Estimate WHO · 2023
Estimate WHO Global Health Estimates, 2023 · 2023
6%
of this area's burden is from osteoarthritis
Estimate WHO · 2023
Estimate WHO Global Health Estimates, 2023 · 2023
Show Health Facts & SourcesHide Health Facts & Sources
Burden
Lost healthy life by condition within this area, 2023 (WHO estimates, WHO causes matched to the area by the project's cause table v0.4). The area's share of national burden appears in the profile's burden comparison lower down. DALYs are the years of healthy life lost to illness, disability or early death.
Source: WHO Global Health Estimates, 2023
What Is Not Measured
- No suitable national prevalence estimate identified.
Sources Of These Facts
About These Figures
How This Area Is Matched
A paper belongs to this area when any of its subject headings is one of the area's headings or sits beneath it. Registered studies use the same headings, applied to the conditions the registry records. Only records carrying subject headings can be assigned at all, and coverage is reported for every selection.
What This Page Does Not Say
Nothing here assesses quality, benefit or performance, and no figure on it should be read as a target. The research-share-to-burden-share ratio compares two shares; it does not establish that research in this area is too much, too little or correctly aimed. Counts describe what is recorded, which is not the same as what was done.
Where The Figures Come From
Publications from PubMed matched with OpenAlex; trials and observational studies from ClinicalTrials.gov. Area assignment follows the SNIH 17-area research dictionary v1.2; burden follows the WHO cause-to-area table v0.4. Both are published in full on the methods page.
Records Behind This Figure
* Not final: counts for these years usually rise at later updates, as many studies are registered after they start and recent papers are still being added. On this page: trials and publications 2025; observational studies 2024–2025.