Global research trends on thyroid hormones and neurodegenerative diseases: a bibliometric study from 2015 to 2025

Despite extensive research on the role of thyroid hormone (TH) in neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), no bibliometric study has been conducted to evaluate their interrelationship. To fill this gap, this study conducts an analysis of literature published between 2015 and 2025, aiming to uncover research trends and emerging hotspots and to offer valuable guidance for subsequent investigations.

Publications from 2015 to 2025 were collected from the Web of Science (WoSCC) and Scopus databases and subsequently analyzed with R software, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace.

This study included 820 papers retrieved from the WoSCC database and 2,039 relevant papers retrieved from the Scopus database. The annual publication output in this field increased steadily from 2015 to 2025, reflecting growing scholarly interest. Among all contributing countries, China produced the greatest number of publications, followed successively by the United States, Italy, Japan, and Brazil. Furthermore, China not only led in research productivity but also demonstrated the strongest international collaborative networks. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism had the highest number of publications and citation rate. Comprehensive analysis results indicate that research hotspots in this field mainly focus on the epidemiological evidence of TH secretion abnormalities and NDs, the mechanisms of TH in NDs, and the role of thyroid hormone-mediated remyelination and neural regeneration in diseases such as MS.

In the past decade, research on TH and NDs has attracted increasing global attention, reflecting growing scholarly interest in this field. The present bibliometric analysis systematically identified the key research hotspots and evolving trends of TH in NDs. These findings provide a comprehensive overview of the current research landscape and may serve as a reference framework for future investigations in this area.