Bibliometric and visualization analysis of global research trends on immunosenescence (1970-2021)

Immunosenescence, the aging of the immune system, leads to a decline in the body's adaptability to the environment and plays an important role in various diseases. Immunosenescence has been widely studied in recent years. However, to date, no relevant bibliometric analyses have been conducted. This study aimed to analyze the foundation and frontiers of immunosenescence research through bibliometric analysis.

Articles and reviews on immunosenescence from 1970 to 2021 were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection. Countries, institutions, authors, journals, references, and keywords were analyzed and visualized using VOSviewer and CiteSpace. The R language and Microsoft Excel 365 were used for statistical analyses.

In total, 3763 publications were included in the study. The global literature on immunosenescence research has increased from 1970 to 2021. The United States was the most productive country with 1409 papers and the highest H-index. Italy had the highest average number of citations per article (58.50). Among the top 10 institutions, 50 % were in the United States. The University of California was the most productive institution, with 159 articles. Kroemer G, Franceschi C, Goronzy JJ, Solana R, and Fulop T were among the top 10 most productive and co-cited authors. Experimental Gerontology (n = 170) published the most papers on immunosenescence. The analysis of keywords found that current research focuses on "inflammaging", "gut microbiota", "cellular senescence", and "COVID-19".

Immunosenescence research has increased over the years, and future cooperation and interaction between countries and institutions must be expanded. The connection between inflammaging, gut microbiota, age-related diseases, and immunosenescence is a current research priority. Individualized treatment of immunosenescence, reducing its negative effects, and promoting healthy longevity will become an emerging research direction.