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. 2024 May 13;43(1):63.
doi: 10.1186/s41043-024-00567-7.

Global research trend and hotspot in the low FODMAP diet: a bibliometric analysis

Cheng Xu  1   2 , Zhen Song  2 , Jing-Yi Hu  1 , Chong-Chao Li  2 , Hong Shen  3
Affiliations

Global research trend and hotspot in the low FODMAP diet: a bibliometric analysis

Cheng Xu et al. J Health Popul Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: According to national guidelines, a diet low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) is a second-line therapy option for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and improves functional intestinal symptoms. Numerous noteworthy results have been published in this field over the past fifteen years. This study aims to analyze the global research trend and hotspot of the low FODMAP diet research, and provide a comprehensive perspective and direction for researchers.

Methods: The Science Citation Index-Expanded of the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) was used to identify low FODMAP diet-related articles and reviews. Three bibliometric programs (CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Scimago Graphic) were utilized to analyze and visualize the annual publications, authors, countries, institutions, journals, citations, and keywords.

Results: In total, 843 documents related to the low FODMAP diet research were published in 227 journals by 3,343 authors in 1,233 institutions from 59 countries. The United States, which was the most engaged nation in international collaboration, had the largest annual production and the fastest growth. The most productive organization was Monash University, and the most fruitful researcher was Gibson PR. Nutrients ranked first in terms of the number of published documents. The article "A diet low in FODMAPs reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome" (Halmos EP, 2014) received the most co-citations. Keywords that appear frequently in the literature mainly involve two main aspects: the clinical efficacy evaluation and mechanism exploration of the low FODMAP diet. The term "gut microbiota" stands out as the most prominent keyword among the burst keywords that have remained prevalent till date.

Conclusion: The restriction stage of the low FODMAP diet is superior to other dietary therapies for IBS in terms of symptom response, but it has a negative impact on the abundance of gut Bifidobacteria and diet quality. Identification of biomarkers to predict response to the low FODMAP diet is of great interest and has become the current research hotspot.

Keywords: Bibliometric analysis; Dietary management strategy; FODMAP; Hotspots; Irritable bowel syndrome; Low FODMAP diet.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart for data collection and bibliometric analysis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The number of annual research publications and growth trend related to low FODMAP diet research
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(A) Network map of the collaboration analysis of the low FODMAP diet research among countries, export of results from VOSviewer. Each node represents a country. The size of the node is proportional to the number of documents published. The lines between nodes represent cooperation between countries. (B) Visualization map of international collaboration generated by Scimago Graphica. The size of the node represents the number of publications, and the color and thickness of the line represents the strength of cooperation between countries. (C) Map of geographical distribution of publications generated by Scimago Graphica. The size of the node represents the number of publications, and the color and thickness of the line represents the strength of cooperation between countries. (D) Network map of the collaboration analysis of the low FODMAP diet research among institutions, export of results from VOSviewer. Each node represents an institution. The size of the node is proportional to the number of documents published. The lines between nodes represent cooperation between institutions
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(A) Network map of the collaboration analysis of low FODMAP diet research among core authors, export of results from VOSviewer. Each node represents an author. The size of the node is proportional to the number of documents published. (B) Network map of the co-cited authors related to low FODMAP diet research, export of results from VOSviewer. The size of the node is proportional to the number of citations. (C) Network map of the academic journals publishing low FODMAP diet research, export of results from VOSviewer. Each node represents a journal. The size of the node is proportional to the number of documents published. The colors represent the average year of publications (blue: earlier, yellow: later). (D) Network map of the co-cited journals publishing low FODMAP diet research, export of results from VOSviewer. The size of the node is proportional to the number of citations. (E) A dual-map overlap of journals publishing low FODMAP diet research, export of results from CiteSpace. The left side is the citing journal, the right side is the cited journal, and the longer transverse width of the ellipse indicates more documents in the relevant journal
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
(A) Temporal view of keywords co-occurrence generated by VOSviewer. Each node represents a keyword. The size of each node is proportional to the frequency of occurrence. The colors represent the average year of keyword occurrence (blue: earlier, yellow: later). (B) Clustering visual analysis map of keywords generated by VOSviewer. The size of each node is proportional to the frequency of occurrence. Nodes of different colors form separate clusters, each representing distinct research directions. (C) Timeline view of keywords co-occurrence generated by CiteSpace. Each node represents a keyword. The node size, indicative of occurrence frequency, correlates with the sum of their sizes along the yearly ring line. The links between keywords indicate co-occurrence, where deep blue signifies earlier appearances, deep red represents later ones, and overlapping colors denote occurrences in corresponding years. (D) Keywords with the strongest burst strength related to low FODMAP diet research during the period of 2007–2024. The burst period is represented by the red section on the blue timeline, export of results from CiteSpace
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