Journal profile · Clinical Neurology
Pain
ISSN 0304-3959 · eISSN 1872-6623 · Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Ltd. · NETHERLANDS · Monthly · Founded 1975
Pain: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 5.73; JCR Q1 (journal website); hybrid open access; median 137 days to acceptance (74 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 22.5%; 409 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Pain is published by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Ltd. and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Pain Mechanisms and Treatments, Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation and Pain Management and Placebo Effect, together about 45.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
This journal is the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain and publishes original research on the nature,mechanisms and treatment of pain. The journal provides a forum for the dissemination of research in the basic and clinical sciences of multidisciplinary interest.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Clinical Neurology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Pain Mechanisms and TreatmentsMedicine23.1%
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine14.7%
- Pain Management and Placebo EffectNeuroscience7.8%
- Pain Management and Opioid UseMedicine6.1%
- Pediatric Pain Management TechniquesMedicine6%
- Anesthesia and Pain ManagementMedicine5.8%
- Neuropeptides and Animal PhysiologyNeuroscience4.1%
- Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ResearchMedicine3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Anesthesiology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Anesthesiology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Anesthesiology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · ANESTHESIOLOGY · rank 7/72
- JCR Q1 · CLINICAL NEUROLOGY · rank 29/296
- JCR Q1 · NEUROSCIENCES · rank 55/330
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 5.73LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 5.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.13LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.11LetPub ·
- h-index
- 238LetPub ·
- h-index
- 401OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 10,589OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.87OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 32.12%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 309LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 19,126 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 231 | 88 | 80 |
| 2025 | 409 | 192 | 1,242 |
| 2024 | 366 | 215 | 3,574 |
| 2023 | 288 | 169 | 4,283 |
| 2022 | 336 | 157 | 5,953 |
| 2021 | 388 | 224 | 13,358 |
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 Crossref · to
137 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 89 days – 202 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 56 days (71 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 191 days
- Sample
- 74 articles with submission and acceptance dates (761 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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 9 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 22.5%LetPub ·
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.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Ltd.
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1975
- ISSN
- 0304-3959
- Electronic ISSN
- 1872-6623
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Pain
What CAS zone is Pain in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Pain is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Anesthesiology / Clinical Neurology / Neurosciences; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Pain?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.73; CiteScore 10.7, h-index 401.
How long does peer review take at Pain?
Based on the dates recorded on 74 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 137 days (interquartile range 89–202 days); authors report an average review time of about 9 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 22.5%”. 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 JCR quartile is Pain in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1; by category, ANESTHESIOLOGY Q1 (7/72), CLINICAL NEUROLOGY Q1 (29/296), NEUROSCIENCES Q1 (55/330). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 1 of Medicine.
Which databases index Pain?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Pain is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Pain open access, and what is the APC?
Pain is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .