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©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Mapping the evolution of liver aging research: A bibliometric analysis
Qun-Hua Han, Shun-Mei Huang, Sha-Sha Wu, Sui-Sui Luo, Zhi-Yuan Lou, Hui Li, Yun-Mei Yang, Qin Zhang, Ji-Min Shao, Li-Jun Zhu
Qun-Hua Han, Shun-Mei Huang, Sha-Sha Wu, Sui-Sui Luo, Yun-Mei Yang, Qin Zhang, Li-Jun Zhu, Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
Qun-Hua Han, Shun-Mei Huang, Sha-Sha Wu, Sui-Sui Luo, Yun-Mei Yang, Qin Zhang, Li-Jun Zhu, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Aging and Physic-Chemical Injury Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
Qun-Hua Han, Zhi-Yuan Lou, Ji-Min Shao, Department of Pathology & Pathophysiology, Cancer Institute of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang Province, China
Sha-Sha Wu, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Wenling, Wenling 317500, Zhejiang Province, China
Hui Li, Laboratory of Animal Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Ji-Min Shao and Li-Jun Zhu.
Author contributions: Shao JM and Zhu LJ conceived and designed the study; Han QH participated in data processing and statistical analysis; Han QH and Huang SM drafted the manuscript; Wu SS, Luo SS, Lou ZY, Yang YM, and Zhang Q supervised the review of the study. All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work, read and approved the final manuscript. Shao JM and Zhu LJ were designated as co-corresponding authors, demonstrating equal and shared responsibility in guiding the project. The decision to designate them as such is rooted in two key considerations. Firstly, they were all responsible for the formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims, specifically critical review, or revision in both pre- or post-publication stages. Secondly, this choice aims to recognize and honor the equitable contributions for co-corresponding authors, emphasizing the principles of teamwork and collaboration inherent in this research endeavor.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82271587, No. 82172600, No. 81972270, No. 91849108, and No. 82200665; the National Key R&D Program of China, No. 2022YFC3401601; the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China, No. LY22H030009; the Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Program of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 2023ZL480; and the Medical and Health Research Project of Zhejiang Province, No. 2023RC153.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
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: Li-Jun Zhu, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 79 Qingchun Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China.
zhulijun@zju.edu.cn
Received: June 11, 2024
Revised: September 16, 2024
Accepted: October 8, 2024
Published online: November 7, 2024
Processing time: 133 Days and 18.1 Hours
BACKGROUND
With the increasing of the global aging population, healthy aging and prevention of age-related diseases have become increasingly important. The liver, a vital organ involved in metabolism, detoxification, digestion, and immunity, holds a pivotal role in the aging process of organisms. Although extensive research on liver aging has been carried out, no bibliometric analysis has been conducted to evaluate the scientific progress in this area.
AIM
To analyze basic knowledge, development trends, and current research frontiers in the field via bibliometric methods.
METHODS
We conducted bibliometric analyses via a range of analytical tools including Python, the bibliometrix package in R, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer. We retrieved publication data on liver aging research from the Web of Science Core Collection Database. A scientific knowledge map was constructed to display the contributions from different authors, journals, countries, institutions, as well as patterns of co-occurrence keywords and co-cited references. Additionally, gene regulation pathways associated with liver aging were analyzed via the STRING database.
RESULTS
We identified 4288 articles on liver aging, authored by 24034 contributors from 4092 institutions across 85 countries. Notably, the years 1991 and 2020 presented significant bursts in publication output. The United States led in terms of publications (n = 1008, 25.1%), citations (n = 55205), and international collaborations (multiple country publications = 214). Keywords such as “lipid metabolism”, “fatty liver disease”, “inflammation”, “liver fibrosis” and “target” were prominent, highlighting the current research hotspots. Notably, the top 64 genes, each of which appeared in at least 8 articles, were involved in pathways essential for cell survival and aging, including the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B, Forkhead box O and p53 signaling pathways.
CONCLUSION
This study highlights key areas of liver aging and offers a comprehensive overview of research trends, as well as insights into potential value for collaborative pursuits and clinical implementations.
Core Tip: In organismal aging, liver aging not only increases vulnerability to liver diseases but also enhances the susceptibility of other organs due to its central role in metabolism regulation. This is the first bibliometric analysis focus on liver aging research. Publication output has significantly surged over the past 40 years. The United States led in terms of publications, citations, and international collaborations. Recent studies have increasingly focused on “gut microbiota”, “inflammation”, “fibrosis” and “nonalcoholic fatty liver disease” in liver aging research. Gene function correlated with liver aging are involved primarily in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B, Forkhead box O, and p53 signaling pathways.
