Published online Jan 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i1.102034
Revised: November 9, 2024
Accepted: December 6, 2024
Published online: January 27, 2025
Processing time: 91 Days and 18.7 Hours
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.
To provide an in-depth analysis of the current focus issues and research deve
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.
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.
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.
Core Tip: Gut microbiota and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been increasingly linked through mounting evidence, prompting a comprehensive bibliometric analysis in this study, which aimed to examine the emerging research trends and focuses in the relationship between the two fields. Over the past ten years, there has been a substantial rise in studies exploring the connection between gut microbiota and NAFLD. These investigations mainly concentrate on the function of gut microbiota in the development and potential therapy of NAFLD. By shedding light on the pathogenesis of NAFLD, these studies not only augment our comprehension of the disease's origin but also furnish novel therapeutic strategies and insights.