In 2025, the EC at the helm of Anales de Pediatría reached the established term limit. The incoming editorial team consists of the authors of this editorial; some were part of the previous team, while others are new to the journal. What is certain is that the EC will continue to work to the best of its ability to further improve and promote the journal. The work done so far has been excellent, as evidenced by the results presented in this editorial. The new EC will strive to continue along the same lines, prioritizing the exclusive publication of manuscripts of excellent quality. The journal’s current standing has been built on two fundamental pillars: scientific quality and methodological rigor. And these will continue to be the guiding principles in the activity of the new EC.

We would like to express our gratitude to the members who are leaving the EC after this four-year term; without their contributions, the journal would not have achieved the excellence standards it currently upholds. Therefore, we extend our heartfelt thanks to our former editor-in-chief, Dr Montserrat Antón-Gamero, as well as to the associate editors, Drs Alejandro Ávila-Álvarez and Rafael Galera-Martínez. Thank you for your time, your dedication, your scientific competence, and your humanity.

The figures presented in this article correspond to year 2025. In the past year, a total of 718 manuscripts were submitted to the journal, which constituted a slight increase compared to the years immediately prior. Of this total, 178 were accepted for publication, with an overall rejection rate of 72%. The rejection rate varied depending on the type of article. Specifically, for submitted original and special articles (383 manuscripts), the rejection rate was 77%. The journal also received 166 scientific letters (rejection rate, 64%) and 138 clinical images or videos (rejection rate, 74%). We also received 31 letters to the editor, with a rejection rate of 41% (Figs. 1 and 2).

Figure 1.

Annual changes in the total number of submitted original articles and acceptance rate in the 2015–2025 period.

Figure 2.

Annual changes in the percentage of original articles, scientific letters and letters to the editor received in the 2015–2025 period.

Manuscript processing times continued to be very good. When authors submit a manuscript, they are notified whether it has been rejected or accepted in an average of 18 days (Fig. 3). As noted in the previous report, the main factor that delays processing times is the difficulty finding reviewers willing to evaluate the articles.1 We will continue our efforts to improve in this area. It is also worth noting that, following the final decision to accept a manuscript, the articles are uploaded within 4 weeks to the online journal as being “in press”, and therefore can already be consulted, cited, and available to the scientific community (Fig. 4).

Figure 3.

Mean time elapsed from reception to first response by the Editorial Committee.

Figure 4.

Mean manuscript processing time from acceptance to publication.

Following a steady increase in the journal’s online visibility in recent years, this metric plateaued in 2025. We will need to monitor this trend closely in the coming years. It is difficult to pinpoint a clear cause, but the journal may be experiencing a certain ceiling effect as regards its potential readership. The artificial intelligence boom may also have played a role in this trend. Nevertheless, the figures remain close to 13 million visits per year (Fig. 5). Fig. 6 shows the origin of readers who visited the journal’s website. As previously noted, we must monitor this trend in upcoming years and work to expand the reach of the journal, particularly in nonSpanish-speaking countries.

Figure 5.

Total number of visits to Anales de Pediatría through journal website and Science Direct.

Figure 6.

Percentage distribution of visits to Anales de Pediatría by country (2025).

The most read article published in 2025, with more than 41 000 visits, was “Impact of Screen and Social Media Use on Mental Health”,2 demonstrating the widespread concern about the potential impact of emerging technologies on future generations.

As regards the social media presence of Anales de Pediatría, the journal continues to post daily on X. Four to five articles from the “in press” section have been posted on Thursdays. Posts are also added monthly to a thread titled Highlights, summarizing the month’s issue, which are now also featured in the Instagram account of the AEP. The graphical abstracts that were first introduced by the previous EC play a key role in this strategy, as they make the tweets more “visual” in nature while building a brand image. The publication that achieved the greatest engagement in social media was “In response to the article Reluctance of Parents to Immunize Their Children with Nirsevimab”, which was interesting, given that this letter to the editor did not refer to a scientific article, and shows that nirsevimab is still a relevant and pressing topic for pediatricians.3

In light of the positive reception of the three monographic issues published to date, Anales de Pediatría will continue to produce monographic issues on topics that are current and clinically relevant, sharing the position and knowledge of experts on each subject. The articles will continue to be published in regular issues of the journal until there are six of them, at which point the monographic supplement will be produced. The next subject will be oxygen therapy and mechanical ventilation, which we hope will be of interest to the readers. The EC will continue to look for engaging subjects and will maintain this feature of the journal.

In 2024, Anales de Pediatría once again achieved an impact factor above 2 (Fig. 7). The journal also consolidated its position in the second quartile, which it entered in 2023.

Figure 7.

Ten-year impact factor trend.

At the time of this writing, we do not yet know the impact factor for 2025. However, we are expecting to at least maintain what we have achieved to date and to continue increasing the impact and reach of the journal.

The annual Anales de Pediatría 2026 award to the best article published by the journal in 2025 was given to the article “Improvement of intestinal inflammation after treatment with CFTR modulators in cystic fibrosis patients”.4 We would also like to highlight the article in second place (which does not receive an award), titled “Safety incidents in pediatric emergency departments: Incidence, characteristics, and variability between centers. A national multicenter study”.5

The award to the article that contributed the most to the impact factor of Anales de Pediatría in the last two years was given to the article “Prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis”, by Isabel Lasheras et al, published in the August 2023 issue.6

We offer our congratulations to the authors of these articles and hope to have the opportunity to continue publishing their work in the future.

One of the cornerstones of the journal is, without a doubt, the body of peer reviewers. As we do every year, and to express our appreciation, Table 1 presents a complete list of the professionals who have contributed their efforts to this process over the past year.

A total of 258 people contributed as reviewers for Anales de Pediatría. Without them, the journal could not continue. The EC is fully aware that this task requires considerable effort and time, both of which reviewers offer altruistically. Their work is essential to ensuring the quality of the peer review process and to selecting those manuscripts that truly meet the quality standards required for publication. Rigorous and constructive reviewing has a positive impact not only on the authors, but also on the journal itself, the scientific community, and ultimately—and most importantly—on patients. Hence the significance of this selfless contribution.

We must not forget that Anales de Pediatría is made possible by the financial commitment of the AEP, as well as the selfless efforts of the EC and the peer reviewers. Thanks to this model, we have a diamond open-access journal, free of charge for both authors and readers, that maintains a high standard of quality. This collective effort is truly invaluable.

From the EC, we sincerely thank all authors who entrusted the publication of their works to Anales de Pediatría in the past year. Their contributions are essential to the growth and permanence of the journal, not only on account of the scientific quality of the submitted manuscripts, but also due to their commitment to continuous improvement through the review process. Each submission, independently of the final decision, contributes to enriching the scientific debate and advance knowledge in the field of pediatrics.

And, of course, we must express our gratitude to the AEP, which, as mentioned above, remains firmly committed to Anales de Pediatría. The support of the AEP Board of Directors is essential to the work of the EC. This support is ongoing and respectful, guaranteeing the independence of the EC. We would also like to thank all the committees and scientific societies affiliated with the AEP for their contributions and collaboration in handling the manuscripts. Together, we make this journal our journal.

We keep moving forward.