Research progress and hotspots of the impact of Mediterranean diet on brain health from 2005 to 2025: a bibliometric and visualization analysis

TL;DR

This study analyzes global research trends on how the Mediterranean diet affects brain health from 2005 to 2025, identifying key countries, journals, and research topics.

Contribution

The study provides a comprehensive bibliometric and visualization analysis of Mediterranean diet research on brain health, highlighting emerging trends and key players.

Findings

The number of publications on Mediterranean diet and brain health has steadily increased globally.

The United States leads in research output and international collaboration in this field.

Nutrients is the leading journal, and Alzheimer disease, gut microbiota, and oxidative stress are key research themes.

Abstract

To conduct bibliometric and visual analysis in the field of Mediterranean diet (MD) on brain health from 2005 to 2025.

Relevant literature published between 2005 and 2025 was retrieved from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. R software and VOSviewer were used for data analysis and visualization.

The number of publications in this field showed a steady annual increase. The United States ranked first in terms of publication output, followed by Italy, Spain, China, and Australia. Notably, the United States also played a prominent role in international collaboration, with institutions such as Harvard University and the University of Barcelona actively cooperating with research centers worldwide. At the journal level, Nutrients emerged as the core academic platform in this field, ranking first in both the number of publications and citations. The study identified key researchers including Scarmeas N and Aggarwal NT. Major keywords included Alzheimer disease, dementia, gut microbiota, cognitive impairment, and oxidative stress, which reflect the central themes and research trends in MD and brain health.

As a healthy dietary therapy, the MD holds great promise for significant advances in the field of brain health. Growing global attention to this dietary pattern highlights its potential to become a core research direction in dietary interventions for brain disorders. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the current research landscape and key hotspots of MD on brain health, offering valuable references for future investigations.

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