Hotspots and research trends of gut microbiome in polycystic ovary syndrome: a bibliometric analysis (2012-2023)

Abstract

Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common gynecological condition affecting individuals of reproductive age and is linked to the gut microbiome. This study aimed to identify the hotspots and research trends within the domain of the gut microbiome in PCOS through bibliometric analysis.

Methods: Utilizing bibliometric techniques, we examined the literature on the gut microbiome in PCOS from the Web of Science Core Collection spanning the period from 2012 to 2023. Analytical tools such as CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Bibliometric R packages were employed to evaluate various metrics, including countries/regions, institutions, authors, co-cited authors, authors' H-index, journals, co-references, and keywords.

Results: A total of 191 publications were identified in the field of gut microbiome in PCOS, with an increase in annual publications from 2018 to 2023. People's Republic of China was the most productive country, followed by the United States of America (USA), India. Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine were the top three most publications institutions. Thackray VG was identified as the most prolific author, holding the highest H-index, while Liu R received the highest total number of citations. The journal "Frontiers in Endocrinology" published the most articles in this domain. The most frequently co-cited reference was authored by Qi XY. The analysis of keyword burst detection identified "bile acids" (2021-2023) as the leading frontier keyword. Additionally, "gut dysbiosis," "phenotypes," "adolescents," "metabolomics," "metabolites," "fecal microbiota transplantation," and "IL-22" have emerged as the primary keywords reflecting recent research trends.

Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis explores how the gut microbiome influences endocrine and metabolic disorders related to PCOS, emphasizing its role in the development of PCOS and treatments targeting the gut microbiome. The findings serve as a valuable resource for researchers, enabling them to identify critical hotspots and emerging areas of investigation in this field.

Keywords: CiteSpace; VOSviewer; bibliometric; gut microbiome; pathogenesis; polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); treatment.

Figure 1

The flowchart for searching and analyzing the gut microbiome in PCOS.

Figure 2

The number of publications and publication trends on gut microbiome in PCOS. (A) The number of publications in every year. (B) The publication trends in the field. The blue line represents the actual number of publications, while the red line indicates the forecasted number of publications.

Figure 3

The visual analysis of co-authorship countries/regionals. (A) The co-authorship countries/regionals network visualization. (B) The co-authorship countries/regionals overlay visualization. The thicker the line the stronger cooperation.

Figure 4

The authors’ local impact H index and co-cited authors on gut microbiome in PCOS. (A) The top 10 authors’ local impact H index in the field. (B) The top 10 co-cited authors on gut microbiome in PCOS, and the larger the circle, the more frequently it has been co-cited.

Figure 5

The published journal, co-cited journal, and dual-map overlay of journals research on the field of gut microbiome in PCOS. (A) The top 10 published journals in the field. (B) The co-citations journals on the gut microbiome in PCOS. (C) The dual-map overlay of journals on gut microbiota in PCOS was carried out by Citespace.

Figure 6

The co-cited references and references with the strongest citation bursts. (A) The top 10 frequent co-cited references, and the larger the circle, the more frequently it has been co-cited. (B) The top 10 references with the strongest citation bursts.

Figure 7

Visualization of keywords and trend topics on the gut microbiome in PCOS, and the larger the square or circle, the higher the publication frequency. (A) The top 10 frequency keywords in the field, and the red square represent the strongest citation bursts keyword. (B) The clusters of keywords. (C) The overlay visualization of author keywords. (D) The overlay visualization of all keywords.