Zhongguo quanke yixue (Dec 2023)

A Bibliometrics Analysis of Polypharmacy in the Elderly from 2003 to 2022

  • ZHONG Pingping, NAN Yayun, PENG Linlin, ZHOU Yuting, CHEN Qiong

DOI
https://doi.org/10.12114/j.issn.1007-9572.2023.0378
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26, no. 35
pp. 4404 – 4411

Abstract

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Background In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the prevalence of polypharmacy among the older population, leading to a rise in the number of related studies. As a result, a stage analysis of its development is crucial. Objective To analyze the research trends and cutting-edge topics in the field of polypharmacy in the elderly from 2003 to 2022. Methods The Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) subsets of the Web of Science Core Collection database were searched for articles and reviews about polypharmacy in the elderly published in English between 2003 and 2022. VOSviewer (v.1.6.18) and CiteSpace (v.6.1.R6) were used for bibliometric analysis. Results A total of 3 987 articles were obtained, including 3 208 articles and 779 reviews. The global volume of publications has increased rapidly in the last 20 years, with the United States (1 097 articles, 27.51%) having the most publications in this field. The University of Sydney in Australia has been the most prolific institution, publishing 156 articles (3.91%), while Dr. Sarah N. Hilmer of this institution has been the most productive author with 67 publications (1.68%). Among the journals, Drugs & Aging (181 articles, 4.54%) has featured the highest number of publications related to polypharmacy in older people. The high-frequency keywords in the field included elderly, polypharmacy, prevalence, and risk, while the current emerging topics revolved around clinical outcomes and public health issues about polypharmacy in the elderly. Conclusion Over the past two decades, the field of polypharmacy among older people has experienced rapid progress, characterized by an increasing number of publications with the United States as the largest contributor. Research topics have primarily focused on the prevalence and risks associated with polypharmacy among older people, while future studies are expected to focus more on the associated clinical outcomes and public health issues.

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