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. 2021 Apr 7;27(13):1341-1353.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i13.1341.

Global research trends in the microbiome related to irritable bowel syndrome: A bibliometric and visualized study

Sa'ed H Zyoud  1 , Simon Smale  2 , W Stephen Waring  3 , Waleed Sweileh  4 , Samah W Al-Jabi  5
Affiliations

Global research trends in the microbiome related to irritable bowel syndrome: A bibliometric and visualized study

Sa'ed H Zyoud et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder. Dysregulation of the gut-brain axis plays a central role in the pathophysiology of IBS. It is increasingly clear that the microbiome plays a key role in the development and normal functioning of the gut-brain axis.

Aim: To facilitate the identification of specific areas of focus that may be of relevance to future research. This study represents a bibliometric analysis of the literature pertaining to the microbiome in IBS to understand the development of this field.

Methods: The data used in our bibliometric analysis were retrieved from the Scopus database. The terms related to IBS and microbiome were searched in titles or abstracts within the period of 2000-2019. VOSviewer software was used for data visualization.

Results: A total of 13055 documents related to IBS were retrieved at the global level. There were 1872 scientific publications focused on the microbiome in IBS. There was a strong positive correlation between publication productivity related to IBS in all fields and productivity related to the microbiome in IBS (r = 0.951, P < 0.001). The United States was the most prolific country with 449 (24%) publications, followed by the United Kingdom (n = 176, 9.4%), China (n = 154, 8.2%), and Italy (n = 151, 8.1%). The h-index for all retrieved publications related to the microbiome in IBS was 138. The hot topics were stratified into four clusters: (1) The gut-brain axis related to IBS; (2) Clinical trials related to IBS and the microbiome; (3) Drug-mediated manipulation of the gut microbiome; and (4) The role of the altered composition of intestinal microbiota in IBS prevention.

Conclusion: This is the first study to evaluate and quantify global research productivity pertaining to the microbiome in IBS. The number of publications regarding the gut microbiota in IBS has continuously grown since 2013. This finding suggests that the future outlook for interventions targeting the gut microbiota in IBS remains promising.

Keywords: Bibliometric; Brain gut axis; Irritable bowel syndrome; Microbiome; Microbiota; Scopus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no financial disclosures or conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The annual number of publications related to irritable bowel syndrome and the microbiome from 2000 to 2019. IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Network visualization map for the collaboration among the 40 most productive countries on the microbiome in irritable bowel syndrome research according to the number of publications in the last two decades (2000–2019).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Network visualization map for the collaboration among the 32 most productive authors on the microbiome in irritable bowel syndrome research according to the number of publications in the last two decades (2000–2019).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Network visualization map for the terms with high co-occurrence frequencies, based on the titles and abstracts of documents related to the microbiome in irritable bowel syndrome research published in the last two decades (2000–2019).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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