Digital health-based physical activity and cognitive function in older adults: A bibliometric analysis

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Digital Health
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Public Health Interventions

Background:

• Digital technologies are increasingly integrated into physical activity programs for older adults.
• There is growing interest in the potential of digital health-supported physical activity to improve cognitive function in this demographic.
• Bibliometric analysis is crucial for understanding research progress and trends in this emerging field.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the research progress and trends in digital health-supported physical activity for enhancing cognitive function in older adults.
• To identify key countries, institutions, authors, and keywords driving research in this area.
• To map the collaborative networks and knowledge base within this field.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis using CiteSpace 6.3 R2.
• Literature search conducted in Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases.
• Analysis of 201 publications based on keywords, countries, institutions, and citations.

Main Results:

• A significant increasing trend in annual publications was observed.
• The United States, Harvard Medical School, and Eling D. De Bruin were leading contributors.
• High co-occurrence keywords included "virtual reality," "older adults," and "exercise," with emerging themes like "digital health" and "physical exercise."

Conclusions:

• The field is rapidly advancing with a trend towards multidisciplinary integration.
• Collaboration networks are forming but remain fragmented.
• Future research should focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and personalized digital health interventions for older adults.