Functional dyspepsia overlapping with other functional gastrointestinal disorders: a bibliometric and visualization...

Functional dyspepsia (FD) overlapping with other functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) has been a prominent topic in gastroenterology. Knowledge in this area has evolved rapidly over the past two decades. Using bibliometric approaches, this study aimed to evaluate the research landscape on FD overlapping other FGIDs over the last 20 years and to identify major themes and emerging topics.

To apply network-based bibliometric methods to comprehensive summarize research progress and trends on FD overlapping other FGIDs, thereby providing evidence and guidance for further studies.

On October 1, 2025, we searched the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) for publications from 2005 to 2025 related to FD overlapping other FGIDs. Records were imported into VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the bibliometrix R package to extract metadata and conduct bibliometric analyses, including annual output, countries/regions, authors, institutions, journals, citation counts, and keywords. To ensure robustness and generalizability, equivalent searches were conducted in Scopus and PubMed using the same keyword set, time span, and eligibility criteria. Cross-database validation assessed concordance in temporal trends, thematic foci, and country rankings.

A total of 3,030 WoSCC records were retrieved. Nicholas J. Talley ranked first by number of publications (n = 188), followed by Jan Tack (n = 95). The top three institutions were Mayo Clinic, USA (n = 170), KU Leuven, Belgium (n = 123), and the University of Newcastle, Australia (n = 120). The USA contributed the largest number of publications (n = 820). The three most productive journals were Neurogastroenterology and Motility (n = 209), Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics (n = 106), and American Journal of Gastroenterology (n = 96). Importantly, multi-database validation demonstrated high consistency in annual publication trends, substantial overlap among high-frequency keywords, and stable geographic and disease-focused research emphases.

This study comprehensive maps the evolution of research on FD overlapping other FGIDs over the past two decades, providing researchers with an updated overview and fresh insights. Our findings facilitate a comprehensive review of the field and offer a reference to inform future investigations.