Research trends analysis of chronic hepatitis C versus nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A literature review text‐mining analysis of publications

BACKGROUND: Hepatits C virus (HCV) rates have lowered due to direct‐acting antiviral treatment. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)/nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rising with no available therapy. We employed text‐mining to analyze trends in HCV and NAFLD research from the past two decades. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We queried PubMed for all HCV and NASH/NAFLD entries published between 2000 and 2020. We compared the total number of publications on both etiologies. We performed subanalyses for different terms of interest and for geographic origin. RESULTS: Overall, 75,934 HCV‐related entries and 24,987 NASH/NAFLD‐related entries were published during the study period. Up to 2015, there was a linear upward slope in the number of annual HCV publications (154.9 publications/year, p < 0.001). In 2015, the yearly number of HCV publications started showing a downward slope (−242.2 publications/year, p < 0.001). The number of NASH/NAFLD publications showed a continuous upward slope during the study period. The NASH/NAFLD field lacks publications on screening and treatment methods. CONCLUSION: Trends in publications varied between both etiologies. They reflect the success of antiviral treatment for HCV. The growing rates of NAFLD/NASH and the lack of a targeted cure explain the rise in related publications.