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Review
. 2021 Apr 23;19(1):130.
doi: 10.1186/s12955-021-01767-z.

Research trends and hotspots of health-related quality of life: a bibliometric analysis from 2000 to 2019

Si Zheng  1 , Anqi He  1 , Yan Yu  1 , Lingling Jiang  2 , Jing Liang  1 , Peigang Wang  3
Affiliations
Review

Research trends and hotspots of health-related quality of life: a bibliometric analysis from 2000 to 2019

Si Zheng et al. Health Qual Life Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: The number of research articles on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been strikingly increasing. This study aimed to explore the general trends and hotspots of HRQoL.

Methods: Based on the Web of Science database, research on HRQoL published between 2000 and 2019 were identified. A bibliometric analysis was performed based on the number of articles, citations, published journals, authors' addresses, and keywords. Descriptive analysis, visualization of geographic distribution and keyword clustering analysis were applied to the collected data.

Results: The annual number of articles showed growth over the past twenty years, but the annual total citations and annual citations per article were both in decreasing trends. Articles about HRQoL were more likely to be published in journals of multi-subject categories. The HRQoL research was mainly distributed across North America and Europe throughout the twenty years and ushered in a vigorous development worldwide after 2015. Cooperation strength between domestic institutions was much greater than that of international institutions. HRQoL research had six concentrated clusters: HRQoL, Depression, Obesity, Disability, Oncology, Fatigue.

Conclusion: This study provided an overall perspective of global research trends and hotspots in HRQoL, and a potential insight for future research. HRQoL research had experienced significant increasing development during 2000-2019, especially the HRQoL measurement instruments, however, there were significant regional disparities in scientific output in HRQoL.

Keywords: Bibliometric; Health-related quality of life; Keyword clustering; Scientific output.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The process of data collection on HRQoL researches
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Trends of HRQoL articles and citations from 2000 to 2019
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a Geographical distribution of authors (2000–2004). b Geographical distribution of authors (2005–2009). c Geographical distribution of authors (2010–2014). d Geographical distribution of authors (2015–2019)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a Geographical distribution of authors (2000–2004). b Geographical distribution of authors (2005–2009). c Geographical distribution of authors (2010–2014). d Geographical distribution of authors (2015–2019)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Chord diagram of the top 20 h-index institutions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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