A Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis of Mitochondrial Research in Diabetic Nephropathy

This bibliometric study systematically maps the global landscape of mitochondrial research in DN from 2016 to 2025. To maintain consistency with the study title and search focus, DN is used as the primary term, whereas diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is retained only when describing search terms, screening criteria, or original author keywords. A total of 1,342 publications were retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) within the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and analyzed using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Scimago Graphica. Annual publication output increased nearly fourfold from 63 in 2016 to 239 in 2025, and dataset-level citation visibility also increased. China led in publication volume, whereas Australia and the United States showed higher average citations per paper, indicating a divergence between output and citation-based visibility. Central South University ranked first in institutional output and total citations among the institutions shown, but its collaboration connectivity was lower than that of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Zhejiang University. Keyword and reference analyses showed a temporal expansion from high-glucose-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis to mitophagy, ferroptosis, mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membranes (MAMs), and the NLRP3 inflammasome. Intervention-related and methodology-related topics, including SGLT2 inhibitors, MitoQ, caloric restriction, Mendelian randomization, and metabolomics, were also identified. Overall, mitochondrial research in DN has broadened toward mitochondrial quality control, regulated cell death, multi-omics approaches, and intervention-related topics. These bibliometric patterns indicate topic prominence and citation visibility rather than direct mechanistic or clinical evidence and may help identify directions requiring further validation.