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. 2024 Jun 21;103(25):e38596.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000038596.

Global research trends and future directions in diabetic macular edema research: A bibliometric and visualized analysis

Yuanyuan Li  1 , Chuanhong Jie, Jianwei Wang, Weiqiong Zhang, Jingying Wang, Yu Deng, Ziqiang Liu, Xiaoyu Hou, Xuqi Bi
Affiliations

Global research trends and future directions in diabetic macular edema research: A bibliometric and visualized analysis

Yuanyuan Li et al. Medicine (Baltimore). .

Abstract

Background: Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) significantly impairs vision in diabetics, with varied patient responses to current treatments like anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy underscoring the necessity for continued research into more effective strategies. This study aims to evaluate global research trends and identify emerging frontiers in DME to guide future research and clinical management.

Methods: A qualitative and quantitative analysis of publications related to diabetic macular edema retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) between its inception and September 4, 2023, was conducted. Microsoft Excel, CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Bibliometrix Package, and Tableau were used for the bibliometric analysis and visualization. This encompasses an examination of the overall distribution of annual output, major countries, regions, institutions, authors, core journals, co-cited references, and keyword analyses.

Results: Overall, 5624 publications were analyzed, indicating an increasing trend in DME research. The United States was identified as the leading country in DME research, with the highest h-index of 135 and 91,841 citations. Francesco Bandello emerged as the most prolific author with 97 publications. Neil M. Bressler has the highest h-index and highest total citation count of 46 and 9692, respectively. The journals "Retina - the Journal of Retinal and Vitreous Diseases" and "Ophthalmology" were highlighted as the most prominent in this field. "Retina" leads with 354 publications, a citation count of 11,872, and an h-index of 59. Meanwhile, "Ophthalmology" stands out with the highest overall citation count of 31,558 and the highest h-index of 90. The primary research focal points in diabetic macular edema included "prevalence and risk factors," "pathological mechanisms," "imaging modalities," "treatment strategies," and "clinical trials." Emerging research areas encompassed "deep learning and artificial intelligence," "novel treatment modalities," and "biomarkers."

Conclusion: Our bibliometric analysis delineates the leading role of the United States in DME research. We identified current research hotspots, including epidemiological studies, pathophysiological mechanisms, imaging advancements, and treatment innovations. Emerging trends, such as the integration of artificial intelligence and novel therapeutic approaches, highlight future directions. These insights underscore the importance of collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches in advancing DME research and clinical management.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Publication screening flowchart.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Overall Distribution of publications on diabetic macular edema. (A) Global annual publication distribution. (B) Citation frequency and h-index of the annual publications. (C) Trends of the annual publications.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Leading countries/regions in diabetic macular edema. (A) The number of publications in various countries. (B) Annual publication trends of top 10 productive countries. (C) The number of citations in the top 10 productive countries. (D) Country collaboration map. (E) International collaboration between countries. (F) Visual cluster analysis of collaboration among countries.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Visualization of institutes and authors analysis. (A) Cluster analysis of collaboration among institutes. (B) Cluster analysis of collaboration among authors. (C) Co-citation analysis of authors.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Visualization of journal analysis. (A) Co-citation analysis of journals. (B) The dual-map overlay of papers citing diabetic macular edema research. (The left side is the citing journal, the right side is the cited journal, and the line path represents the citation relationship).
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Visualization of co-cited reference analysis. (A) Cluster Analysis of Co-cited References. (B) Timeline distribution of the top 8 clusters. (C) Representative burst references among the top 25 references with the strongest citation bursts.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Visualization of keyword analysis. (A) The network map of keywords. (B) Thematic map of keywords. (C) Timeline distribution of cluster analysis of keywords. (D) Representative burst keywords among the top 25 references with the strongest citation bursts. (E) Sankey diagram of the keywords evolution of diabetic macular research.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Timeline of significant achievements in diabetic macular edema research.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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