Effect of Bariatric Surgery on Gut Microbiota: A Scientometric Analysis

To perform a bibliometric analysis of the scientific production related to intestinal microbiota and bariatric surgery between January 2016 and December 2022.

A bibliographic search was performed in the Scopus database to identify published papers. Free and controlled terms (MeSH and Emtree) were used. The information collected was analyzed with SciVal.

A total of 518 published papers were included in the analysis. Carel Le Roux was the author with the highest scientific production; however, Edi Prifti had the highest impact. French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale) was the institution with the highest number of published articles. Six of the 10 institutions with the highest production were in France, yet the United States had the highest volume of scientific production in this research topic. Most papers were published in first quartile journals. Articles with international collaboration had the highest impact. There is a sustained increase in the number of publications since 2019.

The study found that the vast majority of research on gut microbiota changes following bariatric surgery are conducted in the United States and European countries. In addition, the sustained increase in production coupled with the articles being published in high-quality journals and having good citation impact are indictors of the current interest in this research field.