Exploration of Asthma & Allergy in 2024: Annual Development Report

Exploration of Asthma & Allergy (EAA, eISSN 2837-5076), as the official journal of the Italian Society of Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology (SIAAIC), has consistently been committed to advancing multidisciplinary research and innovative practices in the fields of allergy and asthma. Since January 2025, the journal has adopted a continuous publication model, providing a high-quality, high-impact academic exchange platform for global scholars through open access, ensuring the rapid dissemination and immediate citation of scientific research.

Over the past two years, the journal has remained committed to its mission of publishing innovative and cutting-edge studies across molecular mechanisms, immune regulation, diagnostic methodologies, and therapeutic advancements in asthma and allergy. Special emphasis has been placed on multidisciplinary insights into allergic disorders affecting the upper airways, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and nose, alongside pioneering work in allergen-specific immunotherapy and disease-modifying treatments.

This report highlights the journal’s key achievements, significant milestones, and strategic future directions, showcasing its progress and impact over the past year of 2024.

Key Achievements

Submission and Publication

Articles

In 2024, the EAA journal received 51 submissions, mainly consisting of Review articles (26, 51%) and Original Articles (14, 27%). Based on the corresponding authors’ country distribution, the manuscripts submitted to EAA in 2024 primarily originate from 21 countries, including Italy, the United States, and India.

The journal published 41 articles in 6 issues, marking a significant increase compared to the 23 articles published in 2023. Specifically, the number of Review and Original Articles increased by 14 and 6. Italy, Greece, Germany, and Australia were the top countries with the highest number of published articles (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Country Distribution of EAA Publications 2024

It is noteworthy that the number of published Review articles and Original Articles has increased significantly, reaching 24 and 11, respectively, with both categories showing a growth rate of over 200% compared to those of 2023. The steady increase in the number of publications reflects the growing recognition of the EAA journal, and the broad distribution of authors indicates that the EAA journal has significant international recognition, which enables it to attract more submissions from scholars worldwide. Additionally, contributors from diverse regions can bring varied research perspectives, enriching the academic content of the EAA journal.

Authors

Among the 41 articles published in 2024, the first authors have a maximum H-index of 73 and an average H-index of 13, while the corresponding authors have a maximum H-index of 139 and an average H-index of 24 (Figure 2). Among the 52 first authors and corresponding authors of EAA in 2024, 33% have an H-index of more than 20. Many distinguished scientists contributed to EAA including Prof. Karl-Christian Bergmann, Prof. Stephen Durham, and Prof. Peter Gerard Gibson, etc. This indicates that the EAA journal is currently capable of attracting high-impact scholars.

Figure 2. H-Index distribution of EAA articles’ authors 2024

Views

In 2024, 41 published articles got a total of 39,299 views, representing a significant increase compared to the 2023 viewership (7639). The average number of article views per article increased significantly to 958 times, which is about three times higher than in 2023. Meanwhile, the total view of all articles also increased quickly and steadily in each month, which achieved 72,813 times at the end of 2024 (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Total views of EAA articles

Notably, the article titled “Management of Asthma Using Probiotics” achieved the highest number of views, reaching 3,607, which belongs to the special issue “Asthma and its Relationship with Psychological and Psychopathological Factors” (Guest Editor: Prof. Pasquale Caponnetto, Italy). The substantial growth in total views demonstrates that the EAA journal’s visibility and influence have markedly improved in 2024, attracting a larger readership and greater engagement.

Manuscript Processing

In 2024, Open Exploration Publishing implemented various measures to optimize manuscript processing, aiming to provide authors with better and faster publication services, thereby enabling articles to be read promptly and generate impact. Last year, the EAA journal achieved an average initial review time of 7 days and an average first-round peer review time of 71 days, with a rejection rate of 44%. Compared to 2023, the time required for the initial review of the EAA journal has been shortened by two-thirds to only seven days, and the time required for the first round of decisions has been reduced by about 37%. The overall processing time has a significant improvement in 2024. Furthermore, a total of 113 reviewers participated in the peer review process for the EAA journal, with an average H-index of approximately 23. These reviewers come from 33 countries, with the top four being the USA, China, Italy, and Turkey (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Country Distribution of EAA Reviewers 2024

EAA journal has maintained a relatively stable rejection rate in the two years since it launched, indicating that the submissions to EAA are of relatively decent quality. Shorter manuscript processing times provide authors with a better submission experience and enhance the journal’s competitiveness. More importantly, the EAA journal upholds a rigorous peer-review process with a high level of academic expertise and an international diversity of reviewers.

Moving forward, the EAA editorial team will continue to refine and improve the manuscript processing workflow to further reduce authors’ waiting time while maintaining the journal’s high academic standards and global reach.

Editorial Board

In 2024, the EAA editorial board completed its first term renewal. The current editorial board consists of 56 excellent experts, including two Editors-in-Chief, Prof. Giorgio Walter Canonica and Prof. Mario Di Gioacchino, 21 Associate Editors, and 33 Editorial Board members. Among them, 10 are female editors. The 56 editorial board members come from 20 countries led by Italy, Germany, China, Japan, and Portugal (Figure 5), with an average H-index of 45 (Figure 6). This strong, international, and academically influential editorial board team provides strong academic support and background for EAA development.

        Figure 5. Country Distribution of EAA Editorial Board            Figure 6. H-Index distribution of EAA Editorial Board Members

Many editorial board members have contributed to the journal’s development by serving as guest editors, academic editors, reviewers, authors, etc., which demonstrates that the EAA journal boasts an editorial board team characterized by internationalization and high academic influence. These strengths contribute to enhancing EAA’s academic reputation, attracting high-quality submissions, and providing a solid foundation for the journal’s long-term development.

Special Issues

In 2024, EAA successfully concluded one special issue “The Different Faces of Food Allergy”, which was led by Prof. Ingrid Terreehorst. This special issue includes 6 articles and has already started getting citations. Two of the articles have attracted a lot of attention since their publication, with promising views and downloads. For example, “Exploring the therapeutic potential of algae derived food and diet factors in allergy and inflammation” from Prof. Leonel Pereira (2,644 Views; 61 Downloads), “Food allergy as one of the faces of primary immunodeficiency” from Dr. Polina Kostova (1,863 Views; 51 Downloads).

In addition, three new special issues were launched in EAA, titled “Beyond Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases: Pathogenetic Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies”, “Asthma, Allergies, and Respiratory Infections in Pediatric Age”, and “Practical Issues in Pediatric Allergy”. As of December 31, 2024, EAA has a total of 15 ongoing special issues. More details can be found at: https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/eaa/Special_Issues.

Promotion

With the support of our esteemed Editors-in-Chief Prof. Giorgio Walter Canonica and Prof. Mario Di Gioacchino, EAA received extensive publicity and promotion at the XXXVI CONGRESSO NAZIONALE SIAAIC 2024 (https://siaaic2024.org/) in Italy, held from October 4–6, 2024. The roll-up banner of EAA journal was displayed at the conference venue for attendees to learn about the journal, while the promotional flyers of EAA journal and Open Exploration Publishing were also distributed, helping to raise awareness among attendees. The promotion of EAA at this influential conference has garnered more attention for the journal.

At the same time, we actively promote the latest developments of the journal through social media including LinkedIn and WeChat. Currently, ‘EAA Journal’ has 9,180 connections on LinkedIn, which added 5,032 than in 2023, and the Journal page ‘Exploration of Asthma & Allergy’ has 3,505 followers.

Future Outlook

In the upcoming year, our primary focus will be on collecting more high-quality manuscripts to secure stable and quality publication. We would actively engage with leading researchers to launch impactful special issues on hot topics and attract authoritative scholars in the field to write forward-looking articles, thus publishing cutting-edge research in asthma, allergies, and related fields.

To encourage high quality submissions and recognize the authors, the journal sets a “Highly Cited Paper Award” for both the author and the guest editor. The journal will provide a reward of 300-100 USD and an official certificate to the author team of winning articles, as well as a bonus for the corresponding guest editor. Additionally, we also set a series of awards including the honorarium for the guest editors (600-1000 USD), promotional awards, etc. We welcome more researchers to participate in the EAA’s future development.

Meanwhile, the EAA journal plans to collaborate closely with the editorial board members in 2025 to enhance its promotion at high-impact academic conferences. By leveraging these platforms, EAA aims to expand its influence within the international academic community, attracting scholars from diverse regions and research fields to read, and cite its publications. Furthermore, social media, as a vital tool for modern academic dissemination, will be utilized more effectively to broaden audience reach, enhance engagement, and reinforce EAA’s global impact.

In terms of author services, EAA will continue to strive for even faster turnaround times for manuscript processing. By continuously optimizing and refining the existing workflow, we aim to further improve efficiency, shorten processing times, publish articles faster for authors, and enhance the overall submission experience, which can enhance the competitiveness of the journal.

In 2025, EAA will actively get itself involved in more important databases, further enhancing the journal’s visibility and impact. Now, the EAA journal has already submitted its application for inclusion in the CAS database and plans to apply for the DOAJ database this year. We believe that with the support of our Editorial Board, authors, and reviewers, EAA will achieve the above goals and have a better performance in 2025.

Best regards,

EAA Editorial Office

Contact us: eaajournal@explorationpub.com

EAA Website: https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/eaa

Submission Link：https://eaa.aressystem.com/

Annual Development Report of EAA-2024.pdf