Journal profile · NUTRITION & DIETETICS
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN
ISSN 2405-4577 · Elsevier
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.4 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,750; median 47 days to acceptance (117 articles, last 24 months); 1,841 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Nutrition and Health in Aging, Clinical Nutrition and Gastroenterology and Enhanced Recovery After Surgery, together about 48.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Physiology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN is an electronic-only journal and is an official publication of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN).Nutrition and nutritional care have gained wide clinical and scientific interest during the past decades. The increasing knowledge of metabolic disturbances and nutritional assessment in chronic and acute diseases has stimulated rapid advances in design, development and clinical application of nutritional therapy. The aims of ESPEN are to encourage the rapid diffusion of knowledge and its application in the field of clinical nutrition and metabolism.Published bimonthly, Clinical Nutrition ESPEN focuses on publishing articles on the relationship between nutrition and disease in the setting of basic science and clinical nutrition. Original articles, scoping and systematic reviews, metaanalyses, as well as educational papers, are welcomed.Clinical Nutrition ESPEN is available to all members of ESPEN and to all subscribers of Clinical Nutrition.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): NUTRITION & DIETETICS
Editor-in-chief Ronan ThibaultPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 5%); most named Italy 10, Türkiye 7, United Kingdom 6, France 6, Mainland China 4 (81 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Nutrition and Health in AgingMedicine27%
- Clinical Nutrition and GastroenterologyNursing14.2%
- Enhanced Recovery After SurgeryMedicine6.8%
- Diet and metabolism studiesMedicine5.3%
- Nutritional Studies and DietMedicine5.2%
- Cardiac, Anesthesia and Surgical OutcomesMedicine4.5%
- Body Composition Measurement TechniquesMedicine4.5%
- Child Nutrition and Feeding IssuesMedicine3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Nutrition & Dietetics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Nutrition & Dietetics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Index MedicusPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.86LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- h-index
- 66OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,224OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.05OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 22.75%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 426LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 10,674 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 912 | 195 | 200 |
| 2025 | 1,841 | 223 | 1,379 |
| 2024 | 1,540 | 176 | 2,949 |
| 2023 | 2,194 | 1,758 | 3,543 |
| 2022 | 523 | 174 | 5,052 |
| 2021 | 1,106 | 271 | 7,886 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
47 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 25 days – 97 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 6 days (117 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 58 days
- Sample
- 117 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,189 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Submission to acceptance
- 109 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,750 / EUR 2,570 / GBP 2,200 / JPY 341,080 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- ≤ 6
- Reference style
- MLA
- Cover letter
- Optional
Article types accepted9, with length limits
- case studiesCase Studies Only CNE accepts case studies.Length not stated
- editorialAn Editorial is submitted by member(s) of the Editorial Board and handled by the Editors. Is by invitation from the Editors. Short Communication Short Communica…main text ≤ 1,500 words · references ≤ 10
- espen endorsed recommendationESPEN Guidelines ESPEN Endorsed RecommendationLength not stated
- espen guidelinesESPEN Guidelines ESPEN Endorsed RecommendationLength not stated
- full length articleFull Length Articles are original research and/or clinical studies.Length not stated
- letter to the editorLetter to the Editor contains comments on previously published articles (not longer than 6 months old) in the respective journal. When a letter refers to an art…main text ≤ 500 words
- narrative reviewArticles are publications that describe and discuss the state of the science of a specific topic or theme from a theoretical and contextual point of view.Length not stated
- protocols (cne only)Protocols (CNE only)Length not stated
- short communicationShort Communications are about original research and /or clinical studies that do not require a full paper, but are completed studies. However, the editorial bo…main text ≤ 1,500 words · references ≤ 10
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Self-archiving, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Authors may use generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process to improve readability and language. We suggest that applying this technology should be done with human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and edit the result, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. AI and AI-assi…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Changes to authorship
Authors are expected to carefully consider the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Gold open access
Gold open access with permitted reuse; publication fee payable by authors or their funder/institution. Model summary
Articles are freely available to both subscribers and the wider public with permitted reuse. A Gold Open Access publication fee is payable by authors or on their behalf (e.g. by their research funder or institution). Elsevier has established a number of agreements with funding bodies which allow authors to comply with their funder's open access policies. Some funding bodies will reimburse the auth…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single blind peer review; papers deemed suitable are typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers; Editors make the final decision. Model summary
This journal operates a single blind review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editors are responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editors' decisi…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprints can be shared anywhere at any time and will not count as prior publication. Model summary
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing your preprints (e.g. on a preprint server) will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Green Open Access (self-archiving)
Green open access (self-archiving) options are available. Model summary
Authors can share their research in a variety of different ways and Elsevier has a number of Green Open Access options available. We recommend authors see our Open Access page for further information.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines File type: CONSORT Agreement Checklist
All Randomized controlled Trials submitted for publication should include a completed Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist. Please refer to the CONSORT statement website for more information. The checklist can also be downloaded from here. You will be asked to upload this completed checklist at the time of submission and this file is mandatory for submission. In addition,…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 2405-4577
- Society / sponsor
- European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Clinical Nutrition ESPEN
What CAS zone is Clinical Nutrition ESPEN in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Clinical Nutrition ESPEN is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Nutrition & Dietetics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Clinical Nutrition ESPEN?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.4; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5, h-index 66.
How long does peer review take at Clinical Nutrition ESPEN?
Based on the dates recorded on 117 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 47 days (interquartile range 25–97 days). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Clinical Nutrition ESPEN?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: ≤ 6; Reference style: MLA; Cover letter: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Clinical Nutrition ESPEN based?
Of the 81 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (10), Türkiye (7) and United Kingdom (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Clinical Nutrition ESPEN?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Clinical Nutrition ESPEN is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Clinical Nutrition ESPEN open access, and what is the APC?
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,750.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .