Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep 4:15:1400657.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1400657. eCollection 2024.

Mapping the relationship between atopic dermatitis and gut microbiota: a bibliometric analysis, 2014-2023

Yilin Wang  1 , Bingkun Wang  1 , Shiyou Sun  1 , Zhongzhi Wang  2
Affiliations

Mapping the relationship between atopic dermatitis and gut microbiota: a bibliometric analysis, 2014-2023

Yilin Wang et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition affecting a significant portion of the population, with prevalence rates of 25% in children and 7-10% in adults. AD not only poses physical challenges but also profoundly impacts patients' mental well-being and quality of life. The stability of gut microbiota is crucial for overall health and can influence AD progression by modulating immune function, skin barrier integrity, and neuroendocrine signaling, which may be an effective target for the prevention and treatment of AD. Thus, exploring the interactions between AD and gut microbiota, particularly in infants, can provide insights into potential preventive and therapeutic strategies. This study aimed to explore the correlation between AD and gut microbiota while providing an overview of current research trends and emerging areas of interest in this field.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted on the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) for relevant publications from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2023. English-language articles and reviews were included. Two investigators independently screened the publications, and visual analysis was performed using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Scimago Graphica, and Microsoft Excel software.

Results: A total of 804 articles were included, showing a significant increase in publications over the past decade. The United States, Wageningen University, and University Ulsan (represented by Hong SJ) had the highest number of published papers. Nutrients was the journal with the most publications, while the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology had the highest number of citations and centrality among co-cited journals. Keyword visualization analysis identified "atopic dermatitis" and "gut microbiota" as central themes. Notably, there has been a notable shift in research focus over the years, with early studies concentrating on "Fecal microbiota," "caesarean section," and "first 6 months," while recent studies have highlighted the roles of "cells," "dysbiosis," and "prebiotics." This shift indicates growing interest in the underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic interventions related to the intestinal microecology in AD treatment.

Conclusion: The field of AD and gut microbiota research has evolved significantly, with an increasing focus on understanding the intricate interactions between gut microbiota and AD pathogenesis. Recent years have witnessed increased interest in understanding the relationship between AD and gut microbiota, with researchers conducting extensive studies exploring various aspects of this connection. This review analyzes research trends over the past decade, highlighting trends and hotspots in the study of AD, particularly in infants, and the role of microbiota. This review serves as a valuable reference for future investigations, aiming to provide deeper insights into this burgeoning field and suggests directions for future research.

Keywords: atopic dermatitis; bibliometric analysis; gut microbiota; hotspots; trends.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart depicting data collection strategies for AD and gut microbiota. The Web of Science Core Collection database were searched using specific terms, with the search period limited to January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2023. The inclusion criteria were papers and reviews relevant to the search terms, while letters, briefs, book reviews, and similar documents were excluded, resulting in a total of 804 articles.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of publications per year focusing on AD and gut microbiota. The cumulative number of articles published on AD and microbiota from 2014 to 2023 were plotted. At the same time, an exponential function y = 36.316e0.1307x (R2 = 0.9203, x is the year, y is the annual number of articles published) was created to model the annual publication trend, and the fit of the curve was well.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Network Map illustrating Collaborative Relationships between Countries/Regions in the research on AD and gut microbiota. To create the national cooperation map, countries that have published at least 5 articles on AD and microbiota were included. Each peripheral curve segment represents a country, and the thickness of the connection is proportional to the intensity of cooperation between countries.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cluster network visualization showcasing cooperation among institutions in AD and gut microbiota research. A total of 1,489 institutions published 804 articles on AD and gut microbiota related research. Different colors represent different clusters (based on the document co-citation network between institutions,institutions with high co-citation relationships are gathered together and a clustering hierarchy diagram is generated to show the relationship between institutions); the thickness of the lines connecting circles represent the intensity of cooperation between institutions; the size of the circle is positively correlated with the number of articles issued by the institution.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Cluster network visualization highlighting authors in AD and gut microbiota research. Visual analysis of authors was performed using VOSviewer software, and 4,329 authors published a total of 804 articles on AD and gut microbiota related research. Authors published at least 5 articles on AD and microbiota were enrolled to obtain the collaboration graph. The size of the circle is positively correlated with the number of articles published by the researcher, and the colors represent different clusters.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Cooperation network map of co-cited references in AD and gut microbiota research. A Cooperation network map of journals was created using CiteSpace. A total of 35,866 documents were cited, of which 41 were cited more than 50 times. The size of the circles is positively correlated with the number of citations.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Dual-map overlay of journals in the field of AD and gut microbiota. The dual-map overlay of journals is divided into two parts: citing journals on the left and cited journals on the right. Each dot on the map represents a journal, and the curves between the left and right parts of the map indicate citation links. These link trajectories provide insights into the interdisciplinary relationships within the field, fully displaying the citation flow.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Co-occurrence network map of keywords related to AD and gut microbiota. An analysis of keyword co-occurrence clusters was performed using VOSviewer software. The minimum number of occurrences for each keyword was set to 10 times, including authors who meet the above conditions. A total of 3,001 keywords underwent cleaning, with elimination of meaningless words. After merging synonyms, 161 keywords were selected to form a visual map.
Figure 9
Figure 9
A timeline view of keywords and the top 25 keywords with the strongest citation bursts in AD and gut microbiota research was generated. (A) Keyword co-occurrence clusters were analyzed using VOSviewer software, with a minimum occurrence threshold of 10 times and inclusion of relevant authors. A total of 3,001 keywords underwent cleaning to remove irrelevant terms. Following synonym merging, 161 keywords were selected to construct a keyword timeline graph, where the size of each node represents the frequency of occurrence of the keyword. #1 first year means first year of life. (B) Subsequently, the top 25 keywords with the most significant citation bursts were identified.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Bibliographic coupling of documents and sources. The VOSviewer software was utilized to create these maps, with different colors representing distinct research areas. The size of the circles reflects the number of co-citations, while the distance between circles signifies their correlation. Subfigure (A) showcases the bibliographic coupling map of documents, while subfigure (B) illustrates the map of sources.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Abrahamsson T. R., Jakobsson H. E., Andersson A. F., Björkstén B., Engstrand L., Jenmalm M. C. (2012). Low diversity of the gut microbiota in infants with atopic eczema. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 129, 434–440.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2011.10.025, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Abrahamsson T. R., Jakobsson H. E., Andersson A. F., Björkstén B., Engstrand L., Jenmalm M. C. (2014). Low gut microbiota diversity in early infancy precedes asthma at school age. Clin. Exp. Allergy 44, 842–850. doi: 10.1111/cea.12253, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ali F., Vyas J., Finlay A. Y. (2020). Counting the burden: atopic dermatitis and health-related quality of life. Acta Derm. Venereol. 100:adv00161. doi: 10.2340/00015555-3511, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arrieta M. C., Stiemsma L. T., Dimitriu P. A., Thorson L., Russell S., Yurist-Doutsch S., et al. . (2015). Early infancy microbial and metabolic alterations affect risk of childhood asthma. Sci. Transl. Med. 7:307ra152. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aab2271, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arruda H., Silva E. R., Lessa M., Proença D., Bartholo R. (2023). VOSviewer and Bibliometrix. J. Med. Libr. Assoc. 110, 392–395. doi: 10.5195/jmla.2022.1434, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Our research is supported by the scientific research projects of Shanghai HongKou Health Commission (2202–21) and Subject Enhancement Programme of Shanghai Fourth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University (SY-XKZT-2022-2002).

LinkOut - more resources