Research hotspots and frontiers in depression and anxiety in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic central nervous system disease. Depression and anxiety are common psychiatric symptoms in MS patients. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of the literature in the field of MS depression and anxiety to reveal current research hotspots and guide future research directions.

This study used VOSviewer 1.6.18 and Citespace 6.4.R1 to analyze co-occurrence and co-citation of publications, countries/institutions, authors, keywords, and references in the Web of Science Core Collection related to MS depression and anxiety. The research trajectory was described.

This study included 4156 publications. The number of publications has gradually increased since the database was established. Among the 86 countries conducting research in this field, the United States published the most articles, and the University of Washington being the most prolific institution. This makes the United States the core research country in this field. Ruth Ann Marrie from the University of Manitoba published the most articles. Among the 10,270 identified keywords, citation bursts were observed in terms such as "exercise," "mental health," "life," and "adults." Among the top 10 highly cited articles, 2 were epidemiological studies, with the most cited article being one on the prevalence of depression and anxiety in MS published by Ruth Ann Marrie.

Over the past 20 years, research on depression and anxiety related to MS has increased significantly. The bibliometric analysis results indicate that the epidemiology, etiology, cognitive impairment, and exercise therapy of MS depression and anxiety may be the hotspots for future research.