Characterizing the Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Literature: A Bibliometric Analysis

Objective: To characterize the current landscape and future directions of academic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by using bibliometric analysis.

Methods: We used the Web of Science Core Collection to conduct a bibliometric analysis of leading BPH articles. Bibliometric analyses are quantitative approaches examining the impact of academic literature. We used the following search terms and Boolean logic "("benign prostat*") AND (hyperplasia OR enlarg*)" and characterized the 100 most-cited BPH articles through 2018 including citations, journal, author, year, and country.

Results: The top 100 BPH articles were published between 1978 and 2012. Citations ranged from 153 to 2171 across 27 different journals, including 10 urology-specific journals. The Journal of Urology was the most published journal (n = 25), followed by European Urology (n = 17), and Urology (n = 15). In general, the oldest 10 articles focused on BPH etiology/pathogenesis, while the newest 10 focused on treatment. The 1990's was the most productive decade with nearly half of the top 100 articles (n = 44). Twenty-six different countries contributed to the top 100 articles, with the US (n = 74), Italy (n = 19), and Canada (n = 12) being the most common.

Conclusion: This study represents the first bibliometric analysis of the leading BPH articles impacting the academic literature. The focus has evolved from BPH pathogenesis to treatment, perhaps reflecting a shift in research funding and capacity. These findings may guide research priorities for this increasingly common condition.