What does medical research on Ramadan intermittent fasting tell us? Bibliographic mapping analysis of seven decades (1952–2021) and future directions

Abstract

There is a large body of research focused on various aspects related to Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF) and human health and disease. This study aimed to quantify the bibliometric parameters of RIF medical research over the past seven decades and explore these parameters qualitatively via text mining analysis. We used the Scopus search engine to identify published articles related to RIF from inception to December 31, 2021. All types of research articles were included. Scientometric and bibliometric parameters were determined using Excel, Biblioshiny, and VOSviewer. The Scopus search returned 1916 relevant articles. Most citations pertained to publications from the last two decades, and most publications were original research articles. These publications had received around 27,000 citations, and the 20 most prolific publishing journals had an h-index of 112.25. More than one-third of all medical publications were in open-access journals. There was a 13-fold increase in medical research on RIF over the past few decades. We identified the 10 most prolific publishing countries, institutes, journals, and authors. This is the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of medical research related to RIF. The research gaps identified will inform future research directions and foster collaborative research activities.