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. 2023 Dec 21:14:1278952.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1278952. eCollection 2023.

Frontiers and hotspots of adipose tissue and NAFLD: a bibliometric analysis from 2002 to 2022

Shuxiao Gu #  1 , Yanfang Qiao #  1 , Susu Liu  1 , Shuangjie Yang  1 , Shibo Cong  1 , Sili Wang  1 , Deshuai Yu  2 , Wei Wang  1 , Xinlou Chai  1
Affiliations

Frontiers and hotspots of adipose tissue and NAFLD: a bibliometric analysis from 2002 to 2022

Shuxiao Gu et al. Front Physiol. .

Abstract

Background: The annual incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) continues to rise steadily. In recent years, adipose tissue (AT) has gained recognition as a pivotal contributor to the pathogenesis of NAFLD. Employing bibliometric analysis, we examined literature concerning AT and NAFLD. Methods: Relevant literature on AT in NAFLD from 1980 to 2022 was extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection. These records were visualized using CiteSpace and VOSviewer regarding publications, countries/regions, institutions, authors, journals, references, and keywords. Results: Since 2002, a total of 3,330 papers have been included, exhibiting an annual surge in publications. Notably, the quality of publications is superior in the USA and Europe. Kenneth Cusi stands out as the author with the highest number of publications and H-index. Hepatology is the journal boasting the highest citation and H-index. The University of California System holds the highest centrality among institutions. References specifically delve into physiological processes associated with AT in NAFLD. Currently, lipid metabolism and inflammation constitute the principal research mechanisms in the AT-based regulation of NAFLD, with pertinent keywords including microRNA, T cell, hypoxia, sarcopenia, hepatokine, gut microbiota, and autophagy. The Mediterranean diet is among the most widely recommended dietary approaches for potential NAFLD treatment. Conclusion: This paper represents the inaugural bibliometric study on the effects of AT on NAFLD, offering valuable insights and directions for future research.

Keywords: CiteSpace; VOSviewer; adipose tissue; bibliometrics; hotspots; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Analysis of the number of publications and frequency of citations in AT and NAFLD. (A) Annual/cumulative volume analysis from 2002 to 2022. Trend lines reflect annual growth rates. (B) Annual citations analysis from 2002 to 2022.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Contribution of studies on AT in NAFLD in different countries/regions. (A) Visual map of the cooperative network based on CiteSpace. BC is represented in the diagram as the purple outer circle of the node, which is a measure of the importance of a node. (B) Visual map of the cooperative network based on VOSviewer. (C) Geographical distribution map of country/region collaboration. (D) Chord diagram of country/region collaboration. (E) Top 10 countries/regions in terms of citations. (F) Top 10 countries/regions in terms of H-index.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Network of journals and co-cited journals in AT and NAFLD. (A) Visual map among journals based on VOSviewer. (B) Visual map among co-cited journals based on CiteSpace.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Visual analysis of journals in AT and NAFLD. (A) Top 10 journals in terms of publications. (B) Top 10 co-cited journals in terms of centrality. (C) Dual-map overlay of journals. The citing journals are on the left and the cited journals are on the right, with colored curves representing the citation relationship between them. There are four major curves in this figure, two green paths and two orange paths. The ellipses in the graph represent the number of papers corresponding to the discipline. The longer the horizontal axis of the ellipse, the more authors in that discipline, and the longer the vertical axis of the ellipse, the more papers in that discipline. The f-value represents the frequency of citations, and the z-value is a standardization score of the f-value.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Visualization of co-cited references in AT and NAFLD. (A) Reference co-citation network based on CiteSpace. (B) Cluster analysis of co-cited references based on CiteSpace. In general, Q and S range from −1 to 1, with higher values indicating tighter clustering and better results. (C) Cluster-based hub map of key references.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Visualization of keywords in AT and NAFLD based on VOSviewer. (A) Visual map of network based on VOSviewer. (B) Density visualization based on VOSviewer.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Visualization of keywords in AT and NAFLD based on CiteSpace. (A) Top 30 keywords with the strongest citation bursts. The blue line indicates the timeline, with the bolded blue segment indicating the beginning and ending years of the keyword, while the red segment indicates its burst duration period. (B) Cluster-based timeline diagram of keywords.
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