Autoimmune thyroiditis and comorbid autoimmune diseases: global research landscape and future directions

Autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) patients frequently present with coexisting autoimmune diseases (ADs), adding complexity to management and outcomes. Although this field has been extensively explored, there is a paucity of bibliometric analyses capable of clarifying worldwide research trajectories, identifying major hotspots, and outlining prospective directions.

This study extracted data from PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, and Scopus, analyzing 2,201 publications published between 1980 and 2024. Data visualization was performed using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the bibliometrix R package.

The analysis encompassed 95 countries, 2,561 institutions, and 10,355 authors, with publications across 769 sources. The United States led in the number of published articles, while the University of Pisa emerged as the most productive institution. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism had the highest volume of publications and citations in this field. Alessandro Antonelli was identified as the most prolific author, with the highest number of co-cited authors. Keyword analysis identified five primary areas of research: immune dysregulation and inflammation mechanisms, comorbidity phenomena and shared pathological foundations, immune disturbances in infections and pregnancy, genetic susceptibility and genetic mechanisms, and biomarkers and cancer risk. Key future research areas include further exploration of precision medicine & multi-omics, microbiota's role in immune regulation, genetic factors and polymorphisms, the relationship between comorbidities and systemic ADs, and biomarkers with causal inference.

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the literature on AD and AIT, offering insights into global research trends and current hotspots, while suggesting future directions for further investigation.