[Analysis of the status and trends of international research in complementary and alternative medicine based on literature mining].

OBJECTIVE

To have an overview of the international status and trends of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research, and to provide a reference tool for researchers.

METHODS

Taking PubMed as the retrieval source, and using the methods of informetrics analysis (such as Price's Law of exponential growth, Bradford's law) and text mining (association rules), CAM articles published between 1998 and 2010 were statistically analyzed on, for example, document growth, core journals and active fields.

RESULTS

The literature about CAM research published between 1998 and 2010 showed the trends of exponential growth in quantity. Regional distribution of literature was extensive; China and the United States were the two major sources. Forty-five periodicals were selected from core journals based on Bradford's law of scattering; some colleges and schools constituted the main force in research on CAM. The active fields mainly focus on (1) acupuncture research; (2) phytotherapy research; (3) mind-body medicine; (4) integrative medicine; (5) treatment and prevention of key conditions such as neoplasm, low back pain, mental disorder and chronic diseases.

CONCLUSION

(1) CAM research has attracted attention from all over the world, and it will enter a rapid development stage in the future; (2) Treatment and prevention of neoplasm is a consistent key subject and research field in global CAM research; (3) Elucidating clinical effects, mechanisms of action, and safety of major CAM methods constitutes the most important task; (4) Studies on mind-body medicine have increased in recent years, so clinical evaluation and studies of mind-body interventions should be supported; (5) Research has been done increasingly for identification of the clinical effects and biological mechanisms of CAM interventions in symptom management; (6) Research on CAM will stimulate the development of modern medical model; (7) TCM is an active discipline of CAM, and China will thus face increasing challenges.