Bibliometric and scientometric analysis of late-onset hypogonadism in the past two decades: knowledge mapping and research trends

Background: Late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) is a clinical biochemical and clinical syndrome characterized by testosterone decline in association with increasing age. LOH prevalence is expected to increase further given the rapidly aging global population, and become a significant health burden. The present study employed bibliometric and scientometric analysis to present a comprehensive overview of the global research landscape on LOH. Methods: We searched for publications on LOH published between 2002 and 2024 in the Web of Science Core Collection database. Using Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace, we conducted bibliometric analysis and visualization. Results: Totally, 1561 publications were included in this study. The annual publications generally remained on an upward trend with an annual growth rate of 4.06%. The most prolific journal, country, institution, and author was Aging Male, the United States, University of Florence, and Maggi M, respectively. The economic status affects scientific research output. Multinational collaboration was more common in Europe and North America, and in high income countries. The keyword burst analysis demonstrated the representative burst keywords were “testosterone replacement therapy” (TRT) and “Leydig cells”. The terminology use analysis in the titles of the publication showed that “LOH” was the most popular terminology (50.2%), followed by “andropause” (22.8%) and “androgen/testosterone deficiency syndrome” (10.8%). In the LOH field, most research focused on clinical studies (86.9%), and there was only a small proportion of experimental studies (13.1%). Conclusions: Overall, this bibliometric and scientometric analysis provided a comprehensive overview of LOH and yielded quantitative and qualitative insights. The study identified the most prominent publications, journals, countries, institutions and authors in LOH research. The Keyword burst analysis demonstrates the latest research trends and hotspots (“TRT” and “Leydig cells”). Future studies should emphasize the establishment of an optimal and unified terminology, along with the promotion of experimental studies.

Late-onset hypogonadism; Aging male; Male hypogonadism; Bibliometric analysis; Research trends

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