Deng Penghong, Liu Chang, Chen Mingsheng, Si Lei
School of Health Policy & Management, Nanjing Medical University, Jiangning District, Nanjing, 211166, China.
Center for Global Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Health Econ Rev. 2023 Oct 10;13(1):46. doi: 10.1186/s13561-023-00460-9.
Multimorbidity and frailty represent emerging global health burdens that have garnered increased attention from researchers over the past two decades. We conducted a scientometric analysis of the scientific literature on the coexistence of multimorbidity and frailty to assess major research domains, trends, and inform future lines of research.
We systematically retrieved scientific publications on multimorbidity and frailty from the Web of Science Core Collection, spanning from 2003 to 2023. Scientometric analysis was performed using CiteSpace and VOSviewer, enabling the visualization and evaluation of networks comprising co-citation references, co-occurring keywords, countries, institutions, authors, and journals.
A total of 584 eligible publications were included in the analysis. An exponential rise in research interest in multimorbidity and frailty was observed, with an average annual growth rate of 47.92% in publications between 2003 and 2022. Three major research trends were identified: standardized definition and measurement of multimorbidity and frailty, comprehensive geriatric assessment utilizing multimorbidity and frailty instruments for older adults, and the multifaceted associations between these two conditions. The United States of America, Johns Hopkins University, Fried LP, and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society were identified as the most influential entities within this field, representing the leading country, institution, author, and journal, respectively.
Scientometric analysis provides invaluable insights to clinicians and researchers involved in multimorbidity and frailty research by identifying intellectual bases and research trends. While the instruments and assessments of multimorbidity and frailty with scientific validity and reliability are of undeniable importance, further investigations are also warranted to unravel the underlying biological mechanisms of interactions between multimorbidity and frailty, explore the mental health aspects among older individuals with multimorbidity and frailty, and refine strategies to reduce prescriptions in this specific population.
多病共存和衰弱是新出现的全球健康负担，在过去二十年中受到了研究人员越来越多的关注。我们对关于多病共存和衰弱并存的科学文献进行了科学计量分析，以评估主要研究领域、趋势，并为未来的研究方向提供参考。
我们从科学引文索引核心合集系统检索了2003年至2023年关于多病共存和衰弱的科学出版物。使用CiteSpace和VOSviewer进行科学计量分析，能够对包括共被引参考文献、共现关键词、国家、机构、作者和期刊在内的网络进行可视化和评估。
分析共纳入584篇合格出版物。观察到对多病共存和衰弱的研究兴趣呈指数级增长，2003年至2022年间出版物的平均年增长率为47.92%。确定了三个主要研究趋势：多病共存和衰弱的标准化定义和测量、利用多病共存和衰弱评估工具对老年人进行综合老年评估，以及这两种情况之间的多方面关联。美利坚合众国、约翰·霍普金斯大学、弗里德·LP以及《美国老年医学会杂志》分别被确定为该领域最具影响力的实体，代表了领先的国家、机构、作者和期刊。
科学计量分析通过识别知识基础和研究趋势，为参与多病共存和衰弱研究的临床医生和研究人员提供了宝贵的见解。虽然具有科学有效性和可靠性的多病共存和衰弱的评估工具至关重要，但也有必要进一步研究，以阐明多病共存和衰弱之间相互作用的潜在生物学机制，探索多病共存和衰弱的老年人的心理健康方面，并完善减少该特定人群用药处方的策略。
