Knowledge domains and emerging trends of Genome-wide association studies in Alzheimer's disease: A bibliometric analysis and visualization study from 2002 to 2022

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 19; no. 1; p. e0295008
• Main Authors: Kong, Fanjing, Wu, Tianyu, Dai, Jingyi, Cai, Jie, Zhai, Zhenwei, Zhu, Zhishan, Xu, Ying, Sun, Tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 19-01-2024; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Advertising executives; Alzheimer Disease - genetics; Alzheimer's disease; Analysis; Apolipoprotein E; Apolipoproteins; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; Bibliometrics; Care and treatment; Citation indexes; Cognitive ability; Collaboration; Cooperation; Dementia; Demographic aspects; Diagnosis; Disease; Disease susceptibility; Genes; Genetic factors; Genome-wide association studies; Genome-Wide Association Study; Genomes; Genomics; Health Facilities; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humans; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Neurodegenerative diseases; Pathogenesis; Research hot spots; Research methodology; Risk; Time trends (Statistics); Trends; Visualization; China; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295008

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a progressive decline in cognitive and behavioral function. Studies have shown that genetic factors are one of the main causes of AD risk. genome-wide association study (GWAS), as a novel and effective tool for studying the genetic risk of diseases, has attracted attention from researchers in recent years and a large number of studies have been conducted. This study aims to summarize the literature on GWAS in AD by bibliometric methods, analyze the current status, research hotspots and future trends in this field.
We retrieved articles on GWAS in AD published between 2002 and 2022 from Web of Science. CiteSpace and VOSviewer software were applied to analyze the articles for the number of articles published, countries/regions and institutions of publication, authors and cited authors, highly cited literature, and research hotspots.
We retrieved a total of 2,751 articles. The United States had the highest number of publications in this field, and Columbia University was the institution with the most published articles. The identification of AD-related susceptibility genes and their effects on AD is one of the current research hotspots. Numerous risk genes have been identified, among which APOE, CLU, CD2AP, CD33, EPHA1, PICALM, CR1, ABCA7 and TREM2 are the current genes of interest. In addition, risk prediction for AD and research on other related diseases are also popular research directions in this field.
This study conducted a comprehensive analysis of GWAS in AD and identified the current research hotspots and research trends. In addition, we also pointed out the shortcomings of current research and suggested future research directions. This study can provide researchers with information about the knowledge structure and emerging trends in the field of GWAS in AD and provide guidance for future research.