Covid-19 and Sarcopenia: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Background - Covid-19 disease affects all organs of the human body including muscles. However, the association between “Covid-19 and Sarcopenia” is not analyzed, bibliometrically.  In order, to track the current hotspots, and highlight future directions, we performed a bibliometric analysis on this topic. Methods - Studies on “Covid-19 and Sarcopenia” were obtained from the Scopus database and then analyzed the publication data received by using well-established bibliometric indices. The main parameters of publications analyzed were: document type, country, collaboration patterns, affiliation, journal name, and citation patterns. MS-Excell and VOSviewer were applied to map and determine important topics in this field. Results - The bibliometric analysis indicated 846 publications, between December 2019 and April 25, 2023. These papers received 15651 citations, averaging 18.5 Citations Per Paper (CPP). 29.43% of publications received extramural funding from international agencies and together registered a CPP of 40.66. The USA published the largest number of publications (n=162). However, the highest CPP and Relative Citation Index (RCI) was registered by China (186.0 and 10.05). “Medicine” contributed the largest share (82.98%) in global output. The Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy (n=20) was the most productive institution. Whereas, Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung e. V., Germany registered the highest CPP and RCI. F. Landi was the most impactful author. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (n=38), and Nutrients (n=28) were the most productive journals. The most prevalent topics of research as reflected in keywords by frequency of their appearance were “Covid-19” (n=810), “Sarcopenia” (n=324), “Skeleton Muscle” (n=309), “Muscle Mass” (n=214), “Grip Strength” (n=199), “Physical Activity” (n=172). Conclusions- This bibliometric study on ‘Covid-19 and Sarcopenia” revealed that within a short period, these papers received a high number of citations (average of 18.5 CPP). Those papers which got external funding received much higher CPP (40.66). Maximum contributory and impactful authors were from High-Income Countries. The highly cited papers were 5.25% of the total publications.