Current Research Trends, Hotspots, and Frontiers of Physical Activity during Pregnancy: A Bibliometric Analysis

Yanbing Zhou; Xian Guo; Jinhao Mu; Jingying Liu; Hongying Yang; Chenxi Cai

doi:10.3390/ijerph192114516

Current Research Trends, Hotspots, and Frontiers of Physical Activity during Pregnancy: A Bibliometric Analysis

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 4;19(21):14516. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192114516.

Authors

Yanbing Zhou¹, Xian Guo², Jinhao Mu², Jingying Liu², Hongying Yang³, Chenxi Cai⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Art, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China.
² Sport Science School, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China.
³ Library of Beijing Sport University, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.

Abstract

Purpose: Physical activity (PA) during pregnancy has been proven beneficial to pregnant women, with a significant effect on ameliorating many severe gestational complications. This work aimed to reveal current research trends, hotspots, and future frontiers in PA during pregnancy.

Methods: Software CiteSpace was used to perform a bibliometric analysis with 1415 publications in the Web of Science Core Collection.

Results: the number of published papers on PA during pregnancy has increased gradually by year. The United States has made the most significant contribution to the research on this topic, ranking first in the world in both the number and centrality of research. A total of 54 articles (3.8%) were published in 2022. A majority of publications were research articles (n = 1176, 78.9%). The authors and institutions of the research published have more inter-country collaborations. Different patterns of PA, prevention, and amelioration of pregnancy complications are major research hotspots. Improvement of sedentary behaviour, lifestyle intervention through leisure-time PA, and preterm care are major research frontiers and have received extensive attention in recent years.

Conclusions: The current scientometric study presents an overview of PA during pregnancy research conducted throughout the preceding decades. The conclusions of this work might serve as a reference for researchers who are interested in this field.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis; physical activity; pregnancy.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bibliometrics*
Exercise
Female
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Pregnancy
Publications*
Sedentary Behavior
Software
United States

Grants and funding

Funding for this study was provided by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities Grant 2016YB030. Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities had no role in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.