Global research trends of obstructive sleep apnea from 2011 to 2020: a 10-year bibliometric analysis

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common clinical condition with far-reaching health implications. We aimed to analyze the published articles of OSA and compare the differences in aspects of years, countries, institutions, journals, authors and keywords to evaluate the hotspots and development trends in OSA research.

Methods: We screened all associated literature on OSA from Web of Science (WoS) during 2011-2020 and analyzed the research trends in this field using the VOS viewer and the online bibliometric analysis platform. The BICOMB and gCLUTO softwares were used to visualize the hotspots in OSA research.

Results: We screened 24,291 compliant publications. Statistics show that the number of OSA-related publications has increased annually. The United States has been leading in the global research field of OSA. Sleep and breathing have published the most articles on OSA. The University of Pennsylvania is the most prolific research institution, while David Gozal has made significant OSA research contributions. Four research hotspots have been summarized through the 21 most common keywords: (I) operative treatment for children with OSA; (II) risk factors and diagnosis of adult OSA; (III) prevalence of OSA and positive airway pressure treatment; (IV) oxidative stress caused by intermittent hypoxia and complications of OSA such as cardiovascular disease and insulin-resistance. Keywords: "Biomarkers", "Endoscopy", "Bariatric surgery", "Oral appliance", "Oropharyngeal exercises", are gradually emerging in the field of OSA research.

Conclusions: Over the past decade, increasing attention has been paid to global OSA-related research. The United States is dominating in the OSA research. China possesses a considerable publication number now, which has grown rapidly in the last decade. However, more attention to publication-quality is needed. Instead of traditional therapies, oral appliance, oropharyngeal exercises and much more new approaches are proven to benefit OSA patients and gradually becoming research hotspots.