Bibliometric analysis of dietary patterns in Parkinson's disease: from Mediterranean diet to emerging trends

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the fastest-growing neurological disorders. Treatments remain symptomatic, with no disease-modifying therapies available. Recent preclinical and epidemiological studies suggest that dietary patterns may influence PD pathology through the microbiota-gut-brain axis by modulating gut microbiota. However, evidence remains conflicting: some studies report protective effects of specific diets, while large-scale prospective studies find no significant associations. These discrepancies reflect differences in study design and dietary assessment and a lack of systematic understanding of the field. No bibliometric study has systematically analyzed this area. Therefore, this study uses bibliometric methods to map research hotspots and evolutionary trends and identify knowledge gaps.

Systematic searches were conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases to identify literature on dietary patterns in Parkinson's disease from inception to June 11, 2026. CiteSpace was used to perform bibliometric analyses, construct a knowledge map, and identify research hotspots and evolutionary trends.

A total of 424 publications were included. The top three most productive countries were the USA, China, and Italy, and the leading institutions included the NIH, Harvard University, and Johns Hopkins University. Key authors included Mark P. Mattson, Alberto Ascherio, and Xiang Gao. Current research hotspots are mainly "Mediterranean diet", "ketogenic diet", "caloric restriction", "gut microbiota", "gut-brain axis", and "oxidative stress". Emerging topics include "probiotic agent", "prebiotic agent", "fecal microbiota transplantation", and "mild cognitive impairment".

Dietary patterns may influence PD through synergistic mechanisms, with their roles in regulating oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial function, and gut microbiota progressively being revealed. The microbiota-gut-brain axis may represent an important pathway linking dietary factors to central nervous system function through microbial metabolites, immunomodulation, and neural signaling. Existing studies suggest potential associations between specific dietary patterns and PD risk or clinical outcomes; however, methodological heterogeneity and the predominantly observational evidence base have precluded consistent conclusions and limited clinical translation. Therefore, no specific dietary pattern can currently be recommended with confidence for the clinical management of PD. As a modifiable lifestyle factor, dietary patterns bridge metabolic dysregulation and neurodegeneration, and their integration into PD management remains a future direction.

https://osf.io/vgc9p, identifier VGC9P.