Global research trends in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: a bibliometric analysis

Yuanjia Hu; Yang Lu; Shengyue Wang; Xiyu Quan; Yijia Ren; Kaiyi Rong; Sijia Pan; Xiaoyou Lu; Lei Chen; Chenghua Tian; Jianbo Lei

doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1204038

Global research trends in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: a bibliometric analysis

Front Neurol. 2023 Jun 2:14:1204038. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1204038. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yuanjia Hu¹, Yang Lu¹, Shengyue Wang¹, Xiyu Quan¹, Yijia Ren¹, Kaiyi Rong², Sijia Pan¹, Xiaoyou Lu¹, Lei Chen¹, Chenghua Tian¹, Jianbo Lei^{3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ School of Medical Technology and Information Engineering, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
² The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
³ Clinical Research Center, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
⁴ School of Medical Informatics and Engineering, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
⁵ Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Background: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common disease in which vertigo is the main clinical manifestation, and it has become a global medical problem, affecting a wide range of areas and seriously affecting the quality of human life.

Objective: This article presents an analysis of the current characteristics of BPPV-related research and summarizes the current hot topics and trends, with the goal of inspiring future research into the prevention and treatment of BPPV, thereby improving the differential diagnosis and prevention of peripheral vertigo.

Methods: A bibliometric approach was used to collect 1,219 eligible studies on BPPV from four databases-PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science-published between 1974 and 2022. The characteristics and status of the accumulated scientific output were processed using R and VOSviewer so that we could visualize any trends or hotspots.

Results: The results showed a significant increase in the annual number of publications, with an average annual growth rate of 21.58%. A possible reason for the especially pronounced peak in 2021 was an increase in the prevalence of BPPV as a result of COVID-19. The new coronavirus became a focus of research in 2021. A total of 3,876 authors (of whom 1,097 were first authors) published articles in 307 different journals; 15.7% of the articles were published in Acta Oto-Larygologica, Otology and Neurotology, and Frontiers in Neurology. Acta Oto-Laryngologica was well ahead of the other journals in terms of growth rate and number of articles published. American scholars generated the largest number of articles overall, and the USA was involved in the greatest number of international collaborations, followed by Italy and China. The themes of the research centered around three topics, namely the treatment of BPPV, its influencing factors, and diagnosis.

Conclusions: There has been a major increase in BPPV-related research over the last 50 years, leading to an increase in related articles and rapid development of the field. Key directions for future research include the improvement of individualized treatment for residual symptoms after initial treatment of BPPV among the elderly; effective control of comorbidities such as osteoporosis; and secondary inner ear disease, such as Ménière's disease.

Keywords: BPPV; bibliometrics; hot topics; trends; vertigo.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the 2022 National College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (Item 202210344001) and the 2022 Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Activity Plan for College Students (Item 2022R410A045).