Insight into Dysmenorrhea Research from 1992 to 2022: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Dysmenorrhea, classified as primary dysmenorrhea and secondary dysmenorrhea, is a common gynecological symptom that seriously affects female daily life. At present, studies on dysmenorrhea are numerous and complex. To better reflect the trend and innovative progress of dysmenorrhea-related research, this study screened papers on the Web of Science from January 1, 1992, to December 31, 2022. A total of 1012 papers were selected and analyzed for their affiliated countries, institutions, authors, keywords, etc. China is the country with the most academic output, Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is the most influential institution, and Yang Jie, from Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China, is the scholar with the most papers. We consider that the current research focus is on pathogenesis, treatment, epidemiology, and self-management. With increasing research on functional connectivity between dysmenorrhea and various brain regions, functional connectivity has gradually become the forefront of research. We hope our study can promote the further study of dysmenorrhea.

Keywords: management; pathogenesis; traditional Chinese medicine; treatment.

Figure 1

The main mechanism of PD. Arachidonic acid is metabolized through the cyclooxygenase (COX) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) pathway to produce prostaglandins and Leukotriene (LT) A₄ respectively, and is transported out of cells through corresponding transporters (prostaglandin transporters (PGT), multidrug resistance related proteins (MRP1)). After extracellular metabolism, PGF_2α, PGE₂ and LTE₄ act on the corresponding cell receptors (the G prote– coupled receptor (EP, FP), cysteinyl leukotriene receptors (Cys-LTs)), causing potent vasoconstriction and myometrial contractions, and leading to ischemia and pain.

Figure 2

The treatment of dysmenorrhea and their advantages and disadvantages.,,

Figure 3

(A) The number of annual publications on dysmenorrhea from 1992 to 2022. (B) The number of publications per year on dysmenorrhea in the United States and China from 1992 to 2022.

Figure 4

(A) Network of cooperation in dysmenorrhea. Each circle represents a country or region, the size of the circle and the shade of the color inside represent the number of countries to work with, and the lines represent cooperative relationships. (B) Network of countries’ total cooperation in dysmenorrhea. Each circle represents a country or region, the size of the circle area and the shade of the color inside represent the total number of collaborations, and the lines represent collaborative relationships.

Figure 5

Network of institutions’ cooperation in dysmenorrhea research. Each circle represents an institution. The size of the circle is positively related to the number of articles published by the organization, and thickness of the line is positively correlated with the frequency of cooperation.

Figure 6

Network of authors’ cooperation in dysmenorrhea research. Each circle represents an author. The size of the circle is positively related to the number of articles published by the author, and thickness of the line is positively correlated with the frequency of cooperation.

Figure 7

Network disciplinary in dysmenorrhea research. Each circle represents a subject. The size of the circle is positively related to the frequency of subject, and thickness of the line is positively correlated with degree of association.

Figure 8

Network keywords occurrence in dysmenorrhea research. Each circle represents a subject. The size of the circle is positively related to the frequency of keyword, and thickness of the line is positively correlated with degree of association. The connection between each node is numerous and jumbled, indicating that the links between each keyword are close, and also reflecting the cooperative relationship at the corresponding level.

Figure 9

Clustered networks of keywords. Each color represents a cluster. The smaller the clustering label, the more articles in the cluster.

Figure 10

Top 15 Keywords with the Strongest Citation Bursts. The keyword marked in red indicates a sudden increase in the frequency of the keyword during this period. Keywords marked in blue indicate a period of relative unpopularity.

Figure 11

Timeline view of the top 10 largest clusters of citing articles in the field of dysmenorrhea. The highlighted and thickened timeline indicates that the cluster theme is a hot spot during this period.