Scientometrics
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Jun 27, 2024; 16(6): 951-965
Published online Jun 27, 2024. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i6.951
Mapping the global research landscape on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and insulin resistance: A visualization and bibliometric study
Sa'ed H Zyoud, Omar E Hegazi, Samer O Alalalmeh, Muna Shakhshir, Faris Abushamma, Shadi Khilfeh, Samah W Al-Jabi
Sa'ed H Zyoud, Samah W Al-Jabi, Department of Clinical and Community Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus 44839, Palestine
Sa'ed H Zyoud, Clinical Research Center, An-Najah National University Hospital, Nablus 44839, Palestine
Omar E Hegazi, Samer O Alalalmeh, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman 346, United Arab Emirates
Muna Shakhshir, Department of Nutrition, An-Najah National University Hospital, Nablus 44839, Palestine
Faris Abushamma, Shadi Khilfeh, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus 44839, Palestine
Faris Abushamma, Department of Urology, An-Najah National University Hospital, Nablus 44839, Palestine
Shadi Khilfeh, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy, An-Najah National University Hospital, Nablus 44839, Palestine
Co-corresponding authors: Sa'ed H Zyoud and Samah W Al-Jabi.
Author contributions: Zyoud SH played a pivotal role in the conceptualization and design of the research project, overseeing the data management and analysis, generating figures, and making significant contributions to the literature search and interpretation; Zyoud SH drafted the manuscript; Al-Jabi SW made substantial contributions to the study design, data screening and extraction, data interpretation, and preparation of the manuscript; Alalalmeh SO, Hegazi OE, Shakhshir MH, Abushamma F, and Khilfeh S were actively involved in the data interpretation, contributed to the writing of the manuscript, and participated in the initial draft revision; All authors contributed to the writing and approved the manuscript for submission. Zyoud SH and Al-Jabi SW contributed equally to this manuscript as co-corresponding authors.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no financial disclosures or conflicts of interest to declare.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Sa'ed H Zyoud, PhD, Director, Full Professor, Department of Clinical and Community Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Academic Street, Nablus 44839, Palestine. saedzyoud@yahoo.com
Received: January 23, 2024
Revised: April 29, 2024
Accepted: June 4, 2024
Published online: June 27, 2024
Processing time: 149 Days and 1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a liver condition that is prevalent worldwide and associated with significant health risks and economic burdens. As it has been linked to insulin resistance (IR), this study aimed to perform a bibliometric analysis and visually represent the scientific literature on IR and NAFLD.

AIM

To map the research landscape to underscore critical areas of focus, influential studies, and future directions of NAFLD and IR.

METHODS

This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of the literature on IR and NAFLD indexed in the SciVerse Scopus database from 1999 to 2022. The search strategy used terms from the literature and medical subject headings, focusing on terms related to IR and NAFLD. VOSviewer software was used to visualize research trends, collaborations, and key thematic areas. The analysis examined publication type, annual research output, contributing countries and institutions, funding agencies, journal impact factors, citation patterns, and highly cited references.

RESULTS

This analysis identified 23124 documents on NAFLD, revealing a significant increase in the number of publications between 1999 and 2022. The search retrieved 715 papers on IR and NAFLD, including 573 (80.14%) articles and 88 (12.31%) reviews. The most productive countries were China (n = 134; 18.74%), the United States (n = 122; 17.06%), Italy (n = 97; 13.57%), and Japan (n = 41; 5.73%). The leading institutions included the Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy (n = 29; 4.06%), and the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Italy (n = 19; 2.66%). The top funding agencies were the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in the United States (n = 48; 6.71%), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (n = 37; 5.17%). The most active journals in this field were Hepatology (27 publications), the Journal of Hepatology (17 publications), and the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (13 publications). The main research hotspots were “therapeutic approaches for IR and NAFLD” and “inflammatory and high-fat diet impacts on NAFLD”.

CONCLUSION

This is the first bibliometric analysis to examine the relationship between IR and NAFLD. In response to the escalating global health challenge of NAFLD, this research highlights an urgent need for a better understanding of this condition and for the development of intervention strategies. Policymakers need to prioritize and address the increasing prevalence of NAFLD.

Keywords: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Insulin resistance; Bibliometric; Visualization

Core Tip: Although numerous bibliometric studies have investigated insulin resistance (IR) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), few studies have explored the correlation of these two conditions. As explained here, understanding the interplay between IR and NAFLD is crucial for enhancing patient health outcomes. Consequently, this study aimed to perform a bibliometric analysis and visually represent the scientific literature pertaining to IR and NAFLD. Through mapping the research landscape, the study also aimed to emphasize key areas of focus, influential works, and potential future directions.