Objectives: This analysis of retraction notices against ophthalmology research articles by India-affiliated authors examined the frequency, reasons, initiators of retractions and its impact on scholarly integrity.

Methods: In May 2024, we searched Retraction Watch Database (RWD) for “Retraction Notices” issued between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2023. Searches targeted health science research articles, narrowed by [Country: “India”] and [Subject: “(HSC) Medicine – Ophthalmology”]. Citation data was obtained from Google Scholar. Reasons for retraction were broadly categorized as error, misconduct, or unclear. Retraction notices were checked to identify who initiated the retraction.

Results:For the 20-year period, RWD recorded 8 540 retraction notices against health science research articles; 192/8540 (2.25%) were against ophthalmology research articles. Twenty entries were against ophthalmology research articles with at least one India-affiliated author. Two entries were erroneous and 18 were analysed. One article was retracted over 142 months after and another on the day of publication. The median time from publication to retraction for the other 16 articles was about 22.9 months. Only three articles had >five authors. Retractions were rarely author-driven (2/18). No retraction notice was recorded until 2010; most (six) were issued in 2022. Misconduct, especially, fake peer reviews and rogue editors, accounted for 15 retractions. Mean citation count was similar before and after retraction (5.61 versus 5.39).

Conclusion: Retractions of India-affiliated ophthalmology research articles were rare but primarily due to misconduct. The surge in 2022 emphasizes the need to strengthen editorial and peer review processes.