Bibliometric analysis of auriculotherapy research trends over the past 20 years

• Published in: Complementary therapies in medicine Vol. 82; p. 103036
• Main Authors: Chun, Hyonjun, Shin, Woo-Chul, Joo, Sungjun, Kim, Hyungsuk, Cho, Jae-Heung, Song, Mi-Yeon, Chung, Won-Seok
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Scotland Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2024; Elsevier Limited; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acupressure; Acupuncture; Alternative medicine; Auricular acupressure; Auriculotherapy; Bibliometric analysis; Bibliometrics; Biomedical Research - trends; China; Cigarette smoking; Citations; Clinical trials; Cluster analysis; Drug addiction; Ear acupuncture; Geographical distribution; Herbal medicine; Humans; Keywords; Medical research; Obesity; Pain; Research methodology; Science; Smoking; Trends; China; Brazil; United States > US; Taiwan; AAP; Auricular acupressure; Auriculotherapy; AT; WOSCC; Bibliometric analysis; Ear acupuncture; taVNS
• ISSN: 0965-2299; 1873-6963
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2024.103036

Auriculotherapy has long been used to treat various diseases. We analyzed and visualized auriculotherapy’s geographical distribution, key contributors, and thematic trends over the past 20 years to provide current trends in auriculotherapy field and to offer recommendations for future research directions.
We searched for relevant studies in the Web of Science between January 10, 2003, and December 31, 2022. A bibliometric analysis was performed using VOSviewer for annual publications, journals, countries, institutions, authors, and keywords.
A total of 800 studies were included in the analysis, and the number of studies steadily increased over the 20 examined years. In 2018, there was a noteworthy rise in publications, nearly twice as many as the preceding year. Integrative & complementary medicine was the most researched area, with most articles published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. China was the country with the most published research, and the most active organization was Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in China, followed by Kyung Hee University in South Korea. The most prolific author was Yeh Mei-ling, who reported the effects of auriculotherapy on dysmenorrhea and smoking cessation. Keyword analysis revealed four clusters: pain, mental health, obesity, and smoking cessation.
Auriculotherapy research primarily focused on clinical studies related to pain, obesity, smoking cessation, and depression. Future research should place greater emphasis on verifying the mechanisms of auriculotherapy for specific ailments and may require efforts to enhance the robustness of clinical trials. Through visual analysis, our study may serve as a foundational resource, offering valuable insights into the trajectory of auriculotherapy research.
•China had highest number of published articles.•The four cluster of keywords was pain, mental health, obesity, and smoking cessation.•Smoking cessation cluster had the earliest average published year.•Smoking cessation cluster had the highest average number of citations.•The study extensively explores the focal points and current patterns in auriculotherapy.