Sports Medicine Emerges as Leading Authority in Field It Helped Pioneer

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Aug. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolters Kluwer Health, a global provider of drug and medical information services and content to the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, announced that Adis Sports Medicine has achieved the highest Impact Factor ranking in its category, making it the most frequently cited journal by researchers on the subject of sports medicine.

Launched in 1984 when sports medicine was still in its infancy, Sports Medicine was the first journal to focus on publishing review articles on the topic of sports science. All during that time -- with the same founding editor at the helm -- its editorial has stayed true to the fast-growing field and, although in the past few years it has been a serious contender, this is the first year it has taken the top Impact Factor slot. Sports Medicine was rated second on the list in 2004 and 2005, and third in 2003.

"Being recognized with the highest Impact Factor rating reinforces what we've been doing from the very beginning and that is keeping focused on the science of sports medicine and continuing to build on that universe of knowledge by publishing the latest review articles," said Jeremy Shanahan, Sports Medicine editor since the premier issue in 1984. "This accomplishment reflects the support we have had over the years from our editorial board, authors, and referees and particularly the quality of our in-house Adis editorial team."

The 2006 Impact Factor ranking announced recently by the Thomson Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), shows Adis Sports Medicine to have an Impact Factor rating of 3.5, ahead of the Journal of Applied Physiology in the sports sciences category. Two other Wolters Kluwer Health publications, Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews and Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, also both received higher Impact Factors than the previous year and remained in the top-5 list.

According to Shanahan, the journal was created to be international in scope but without an affiliation with any major society. "This approach made it impossible to have an instant impact through an existing subscription base," he continued. "We had to grow gradually through hard work and careful selection.

"Being the primary reference source in a particular field carries a lot of weight," he added. "The ultimate pay off is enormously important because the academic community puts a lot of credence on Impact Factors to prioritize where they want to publish. This in turn will help us deliver more and better research on the subject in the future."

Adis Sports Medicine was the first journal to publish review articles dedicated entirely to the sports medicine/sports science area. The peer-reviewed publication bridges the gap between science and practice in the promotion of exercise and health and the scientific assessment, study and understanding of sports performance. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Adis Sport Medicine is the primary reference source for review articles in exercise science and sports medicine.

For more information about Sports Medicine and other Adis Journals, visit http://www.adisonline.com/. For more about Wolters Kluwer Health and its products, visit http://www.wkhealth.com/.

About Wolters Kluwer Health

Wolters Kluwer Health (Conshohocken, PA), a division of Wolters Kluwer, is a leading provider of information for professionals and students in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. Major brands include traditional publishers of medical and drug reference tools and textbooks, such as Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and Facts & Comparisons; electronic information providers, such as Ovid Technologies, Medi-Span and ProVation; and pharmaceutical information providers Adis International and Source(R). For more information, visit WKHealth.com.

Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer has 2006 annual revenues of euros 3.7 billion, employs approximately 19,900 people worldwide and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on the Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit http://www.wolterskluwer.com/.

  Contact: Tom Kivett
           Kivett & Company
           Communications
           +1-212-727-2935
           tkivett@kivettandco.com