Research hotspots and trends in gut microbiota and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A bibliometric study

Abstract

Background: Recent research indicates that the intestinal microbial community, known as the gut microbiota, may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). To understand this relationship, this study used a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to explore and analyze the currently little-known connection between gut microbiota and NAFLD, as well as new findings and possible future pathways in this field.

Aim: To provide an in-depth analysis of the current focus issues and research developments on the interaction between gut microbiota and NAFLD.

Methods: In this study, all data were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection, and the related searches were completed on one day (February 21, 2024). The data were stored in plain text format to facilitate subsequent analysis. VOSviewer 1.6.20 and CiteSpace 6.1R6 Basic were used for knowledge graph construction and bibliometric analysis.

Results: The study included a total of 1256 articles published from 2013 to 2023, and the number of published papers demonstrated an upward trend, reaching a peak in the last two years. The University of California, San Diego held the highest citation count, while Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China led in the number of published works. The journal "Nutrients" had the highest publication count, while "Hepatology" was the most frequently cited. South Korean author Suk Ki Tae was the most prolific researcher. The co-cited keyword cluster labels revealed ten major clusters, namely cortisol, endothelial dysfunction, carbohydrate metabolism, myocardial infarction, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, lipotoxicity, glucagon-like peptide-1, non-islet dependent, ethnicity, and microRNA. Keyword outbreak analysis highlighted metabolic syndrome, hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance, hepatocellular carcinoma, cardiovascular disease, intestinal permeability, and intestinal bacterial overgrowth as prominent areas of intense research.

Conclusion: Through the quantitative analysis of relevant literature, the current research focus and direction of gut microbiota and NAFLD can be more clearly understood, which helps us better understand the pathogenesis of NAFLD, and also opens up innovative solutions and strategies for the treatment of NAFLD.

Keywords: Bibliometric; Citespace; Gut microbiota; Knowledge maps; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; VOSviewer.

Figure 1

Web of Science Core Collection retrieval strategies and inclusion criteria for articles on gut microbiota and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Figure 2

Global trends in the publication of research on gut microbiota and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, from 2013 to 2023.

Figure 3

Network map of the countries/regions in terms of article publication. A: Network map of countries/regions with more than 5 publications; B: Network map of countries/regions with more than 20 publications.

Figure 4

Network map of the institutions.

Figure 5

Network map of the journals.

Figure 6

Dual-map overlay of journals in the field of gut microbiota and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Citing journals appear on the left, cited journals appear on the right, and citation relationships are represented by colored paths.

Figure 7

Network map of the authors.

Figure 8

Network map of document citation.

Figure 9

The co-cited references map on gut microbiota and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A: Network map of co-cited references; B: Timeline view of co-cited references. The term "citation bursts" refers to literature that is consistently cited over an extended period of time; C: Top 25 references with the strongest citation bursts.

Figure 10

Keywords map for gut microbiota and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A: Network map of the keywords; B: Keyword clustering timeline graph; C: Top 25 keywords with the strongest citation bursts.