Scientometric analysis of post-stroke depression research based on CiteSpace

Post-stroke depression (PSD) has served as a severe and common complication leading to a higher level of mortality. Though various studies have been focused on PSD, limited research endeavor has been dedicated to bibliometric analysis in the past. In view of this, the current analysis serves to elucidate the latest status of global research and pinpoint the emerging area of interest for PSD, in order to support further investigation of the field. Publications related to PSD were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database on September 24, 2022, and included in the bibliometric analysis. VOSviewer and CiteSpace software were used to visually analyze publication outputs, scientific cooperation, highly-cited references, and keywords to identify the current status and future trends in PSD research. A total of 533 publications were retrieved. The annual number of publications showed an increasing trend from 1999 to 2022. In terms of country and academic institution, the USA and Duke University have topped the list of PSD research respectively. Meanwhile, Robinson RG and Alexopoulos GS have been the most representative investigators of the field. In the past, researchers focused on the risk factors of PSD, late-life depression, and Alzheimer disease. In recent years, further research effort has been placed on meta-analysis, ischemic stroke, predictor, inflammation, mechanism, and mortality. In conclusion, in the past 20 years, PSD research has been progressing and gaining more attention. The bibliometric analysis successfully unveiled the field’s major contributing countries, institutions, and investigators. Furthermore, current hot spots and future trends in the field of PSD were identified, which included meta-analysis, ischemic stroke, predictor, inflammation, mechanism, and mortality.