Bibliometric analysis of vitamin D and obesity research over the period 2000 to 2023

Xudong Song; Senhua Qin; Shuxin Chen; Can Zhang; Lin Lin; Ziyi Song

doi:10.3389/fphar.2024.1445061

Bibliometric analysis of vitamin D and obesity research over the period 2000 to 2023

Front Pharmacol. 2024 Jul 18:15:1445061. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1445061. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Xudong Song^#¹, Senhua Qin^#¹, Shuxin Chen¹, Can Zhang¹, Lin Lin², Ziyi Song¹

Affiliations

¹ Guangxi Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding, Disease Control and Prevention, College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, China.
² Department of Gynecology, The Reproductive Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Globally, the incidence rates of obesity and its related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, are continuously rising, posing a significant public health challenge. Studies have indicated a potential correlation between vitamin D deficiency and obesity. However, a quantitative analysis of the studies related vitamin D and obesity is lacking. This investigation aims to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to uncover the collaborative networks, research hotspots, and evolutionary trends within the field of vitamin D and obesity research.

Methods: This study retrieved literature related to vitamin D and obesity from the Web of Science database spanning from 2000 to 2023. Bibliometric analysis was conducted using tools such as HistCite, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace to excavate multi-dimensional information including countries, institutions, authors, journals, citations, and keywords.

Results: A total of 6,144 records were retrieved, involving 123 countries, 6,726 institutions, and 28,156 authors, published in 1,551 journals. The number of published papers and citations showed a generally increasing trend. The United States led in terms of publication volume and influence, with journals such as Nutrients and Obesity Surgery having the highest publication counts. Nasser M. Al-Daghri was the most prolific and influential author. Keyword clustering revealed that research topics covered metabolic health, nutrition, immunity, and bariatric surgery. Citation burst analysis indicated a shift in research focus from the relationship between dietary calcium and obesity to the preventive effects of vitamin D supplementation on metabolic diseases.

Conclusion: The application of bibliometric methods to analyze the research literature in the fields of obesity and vitamin D has provided a comprehensive understanding of the collaborative networks, key research focus, and evolutionary trends in this field, offering insights for guiding future research directions.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis; obesity; trends; vitamin D; vitamin D deficiency.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82100913 and 82360166), the Youth Science Foundation of the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province (2024GXNSFBA010094), the Specific Research Project of Guangxi for Research Bases and Talents (AD22035061), and the Project of Bama County for Talents in Science and Technology (20220016), and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students (202310593008).