Research Trends of Acupuncture Therapy on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Background. Acupuncture has been confirmed as a suitable therapy for treating polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, there is no bibliometric analysis of the global use of acupuncture for PCOS. Our study used CiteSpace (5.8.R3) to provide a profile of the current state and trends in this field. Methods. Articles regarding acupuncture therapy for treating PCOS were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace was used to analyze the number of publications, countries, institutions, journals, authors, cited references, and keywords by using standard bibliometric indicators. Results. A total of 159 publications were considered for the final analysis. The number of publications has slowly increased with fluctuations between years, and the most active countries, institutions, journals, and authors concerning acupuncture therapy for PCOS were identified. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine was the most productive journal, and Fertil Steril was the most cited. China and Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine were considered the most prolific countries and institutions in this field, respectively. Elisabet Stener Victorin became the most influential author and most cited author. Jedel E. published the most cited article. “Polycystic ovary syndrome” was the most frequent keyword, and the top three frontiers mentioned were research method, intervention, and outcome. Conclusion. The current status and trends in clinical research of acupuncture therapy on PCOS patients are revealed according to the results of this bibliometric study, which may facilitate researchers to identify hot topics and new directions for future study in this field.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Acupuncture Therapy in the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain from 2003 to 2022

“…Research institutions and scholars from different backgrounds should carry out deeper exchanges and cooperation across regions, countries, institutions, teams, disciplines, and specialties, so as to open up new research horizons through "collision of ideas". 24,[70][71][72] Secondly, scientific and standardized research methods should be carried out to improve the quality and level of research. Clinical trials should follow the gold standard of randomized, controlled, blinded, and repetitive design, overcome subjective bias as much as possible, and explore multi-center, multi-perspective, multi-method, multi-level, and multi-dimensionally, to fully confirm the advantages of acupuncture in treating MP, and to better serve the patients.…”