Mapping global scientific production on gene therapy and obesity: A scientometric study

Background and aim: Gene therapy has been proposed as a highly attractive avenue for addressing obesity, but research on this topic, from a global scientific production viewpoint, has not yet been mapped through bibliometrics. The current study maps the trends and impact of scientific research on gene therapy and obesity, offers insight into collaborations, and determines key contributors and prominent publications. Methods: A scientometric study was conducted using Scopus, analyzing research published between January 2019 and February 2025. The search strategy combined keywords related to gene therapy and obesity, retrieving 160 relevant publications. Metadata from these articles were exported to Scival for initial analysis and further processed in Bibliometrix (RStudio) for a more detailed examination. The key bibliometric indicators included Scholarly Output, Citations per Publication, SNIP 2023, Citescore 2023, authorship patterns, institutional affiliations, geographic distribution, h-index, and citation impact. Visualization tools such as RStudio, Scival and Bibliometrix were used to map collaborations and thematic trends. Results: The analysis identified 160 publications across 129 sources, with an average of 12.7 citations per document. Despite a negative annual growth rate of 23.5%, the field remains highly influential, as evidenced by a total of 12,226 citations. Among the 968 contributing authors, most collaborated extensively, with an average of 6.9 co-authors per paper, and 23.1% of the studies involved international collaborations. The most common document types were research articles (93), reviews (53), and book chapters (7) and others (7). Leading journals included the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (7 publications, 18.1 citations per article) and Cells (4 publications, 10.2 citations per article). The most prolific researchers were affiliated with The Ohio State University, Dankook University, and Autonomous University of Barcelona. Collaboration networks highlighted strong ties between China and the United States, with contributions from various European and Asian institutions. Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive overview of the global research landscape on gene therapy and obesity. Despite a decline in publication rates, the field exhibits strong international collaboration and impactful research. Identifying key contributors and influential publications offers valuable insights for researchers and policymakers to guide future studies and interventions.