Research hotspots and trends of exercise for sarcopenia: A bibliometric analysis

Exercise is an effective method for the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia, which can improve skeletal muscle mass, strength and physical function in individuals with sarcopenia to varying degrees. Moreover, exercise has an important role in improving ability to perform daily activities and quality of life on sarcopenia. In this study, articles and review articles on exercise interventions for sarcopenia from January 2003 to July 2022 were retrieved from the Web of Science core collection. Then, the number of annual publications, journal/cited journal, country, institution, author/cited author, references and keywords were analyzed using CiteSpace 6.1.R2. A total of 5,507 publications were collected and the number of publications increasing each year. Experimental Gerontology was the most productive journal and the most cited journal was J GERONTOL A-BIOL. The United States of America was the most influential country with the largest number of publications and centrality. Maastricht University in the Netherlands is the most productive institution. The author VAN LOON LJC has the highest ranking in terms of publications and CRUZ-JENTOFT A is ranked first in terms of cited authors. The most frequently occurring keywords in the field of exercise interventions for sarcopenia are “skeletal muscle,” “exercise,” “body composition,” “strength,” and “older adult”; the keyword “elderly men” showed the strongest explosive intensity. The keywords formed 6 clusters, namely “skeletal muscle,” “muscle strength,” “heart failure,” “muscle protein synthesis,” “insulin resistance” and “high-intensity interval training.” In conclusion, this study demonstrates a new perspective on the current state of research and trends in exercise interventions for sarcopenia over the past 20 years via the visualization software CiteSpace. It may help researchers to identify potential collaborators and partner institutions, hotspots and research frontiers in the field of exercise interventions for sarcopenia.