Bibliometric and scientometric analysis on biomarkers and molecular mechanisms for physical frailty and sarcopenia

Valentina Ginevičienė; Erinija Pranckevičienė; Justina Kilaitė; Asta Mastavičiūtė; Rūta Dadelienė; Ieva Eglė Jamontaitė; Austėja Letukienė; Ildus I Ahmetov; Vidmantas Alekna

doi:10.3389/fmed.2024.1326764

Bibliometric and scientometric analysis on biomarkers and molecular mechanisms for physical frailty and sarcopenia

Front Med (Lausanne). 2024 Feb 5:11:1326764. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1326764. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
² Faculty of Informatics, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania.
³ Clinic of Internal Diseases and Family Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
⁴ Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Introduction: The influence of physical frailty and sarcopenia (PFS) on the well-being of older people and continuous pressure on the healthcare systems has prompted a research on the pathophysiology and molecular mechanisms of these conditions. Nonetheless some biomarkers have been suggested as potential markers for PFS none of them have been shown to highlight the complex nature of PFS, which reveals that there is a need for an understanding of the possible biomarker candidates. The aim of this study was to identify the current research hotspots, status, and trends in the field of biomarkers and molecular mechanisms for PFS.

Methods: The bibliometric and scientometric analyses were performed using VOSviewer (version 1.6.18) and open source software platform Cytoscape v.3.9 (for visualizing and constructing a network of keywords). Data of publications (from 1997 to 2023) related to biomarkers and molecular mechanisms of PFS were obtained (in May 2023) from the database of Science Citation Index Expanded of Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed. The keywords obtained from the Scopus database were used to perform a meaningful keyword analysis. A network of keyword relationships was build using Cytoscape.

Results: In this study, we present biomarker keywords for PFS in relation to other keywords potentially designating processes and mechanisms and reveal the biomarker identities and current contexts in which these biomarker identities are discussed.

Conclusions: Over recent years, scientific interest in the field of PFS has increased and focused on the inflammatory process and probably will be concentrated on myokines (such as cytokines and small proteins) that are synthetized and released by skeletal muscles in response to physical activity. Moreover, proteomic and genetic markers are deeply involved in PFS.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis; biomarkers; frailty; molecular mechanisms; sarcopenia.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This project has received funding from the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement No S-MIP-22-36.