Background: Due to its highly reabsorptive function, the kidney is a mitochondria-dependent organ. Research on the association between mitochondria and kidney disease has always been a serious focus of researchers, with many publications. Bibliometrics is a secondary analysis of published literature that extracts relevant information to gain insights into hotspots and trends in the field. Through bibliometric analysis, we aimed to understand the development trends and hotspots in the field of research on the association between kidney disease and mitochondria.
Method: Three bibliometric mapping tools (Biblimetrix R Package, VOS Viewer, CiteSpace) were used to provide an overview of the literature and analyze the co-occurrence of keywords and reference citations.
Results: A total of 2672 relevant research articles were included. The co-occurrence network identified three clusters related to the association between mitochondria and kidney disease, including experimental methods, research mechanisms, and disease phenotypes. We found that research in this field has shifted from disease-level studies to mechanism-based studies, with the most prominent disease being diabetic nephropathy and the most prominent pathogenic mechanism being related to mitochondrial ROS production.
Conclusion: The bibliometric analysis provided a comprehensive understanding of the progress of research on the role of mitochondria in kidney disease, enriching the review literature in this field.
Keywords: Mitochondria; bibliometrics; kidney diseases.