World-wide research architecture of vitamin D research: density-equalizing mapping studies and socio-economic analysis

Trends of serum 25(OH) vitamin D and association with cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: from NHANES survey cycles 2001-2018

Background

The focus of this survey is on survey data for adults aged 20 and above, covering nine survey cycles from 2001 to 2018. Additionally, the present study explored the correlation between vitamin D concentrations and both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality.

Objective

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the trend of changes in the serum 25(OH)D concentration changes in US adults during the survey period, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, and the current status of vitamin D dietary intake and supplementation.

Methods

In-home health interviews were performed using meticulously designed questionnaires that gathered information on demographic details, socioeconomic conditions, dietary patterns, and overall health status. Health assessments were conducted in specially designed mobile centers.

Results

Survey data from 2001 to 2018 revealed a rise in serum 25(OH)D levels, from a weighted mean (95% CI) of 65.6 (63.8-67.4) nmol/L during 2001-2002 to 73.5 (70.4-76.5) nmol/L during 2017-2018, among US adults, while overall vitamin D deficiency rates remained stable (p = 0.152). Notably, in adults aged 20-39, 25(OH)D levels decreased (p = 0.002 for trend), and 25(OH)D deficiency increased (p = 0.003 for trend), especially among those with low incomes (deficiency >30%). Upon multivariable adjustment, an L-shaped relationship was found between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and both CVD and all-cause mortality (p < 0.001 for nonlinearity), as corroborated by sensitivity analyses.

Conclusion

From 2001 to 2018, US adults experienced a significant increase in their serum 25(OH) D concentration. However, subgroups of individuals, including young adults and individuals with lower socioeconomic status, exhibited a heightened risk of 25(OH)D deficiency. Furthermore, an L-shaped relationship was found between 25(OH)D concentration and both all-cause and CVD mortality among US adults.

Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Productivity on Vitamin D and Bone Metabolism (2001-2020): Learn from the Past to Plan Future

Vitamin D has long been known for preserving bone and non-skeletal health. Despite its magnitude of impact, scarce literature has explored the evolution of the relevant published literature. This study aimed at evaluating the trends and performance of Vitamin D and bone metabolism-related publications (2001−2020). All pertinent English language 16,887 articles were searched and extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) database and “R-Bibliometrix” was used for comprehensive analysis. Around 60,149 authors contributed from 114 countries, showing the USA on top with >1/4th of all articles, followed by Japan, China, and the United Kingdom. For authors, Cooper C, Dawson-Hughes B, and Holick MF were found to have written the most articles, citations and highest h-index, respectively. Corresponding authors from the top 20 countries collectively were responsible for around 84% of the articles. Among 2735 sources, Osteoporosis International (632), Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (569), and Bone (448) were foremost. Most prominent sources showed recent declining contributions. The increasing trend of publications with a higher spike from 2008 to 2014, followed by a gradual increase till 2017, was observed. Leading countries, affiliations, and authors showed collaborative publications and were mostly from developed countries with limited contributions, particularly from low- and middle-income countries.

Trend research of vitamin D receptor: Bibliometric analysis

Studies on vitamin D receptor (VDR) and its association with multiple disorders are expanding. This bibliometric study aims to find and summarize VDR-related publications, and compare them across various countries, organizations, and journals to demonstrate trends in VDR research. VOSviewer and Excel 2019 were used to classify and summarize Web of Science articles from 1900 to mid-2021. Total records of 8762 articles were analyzed, and maps of co-citations bibliometric keywords co-occurrence were designed. In conclusion, relative research interest and published papers related to VDR were growing in the past 30 years. The United States of America dominates the research regarding VDR. The highest quality of VDR research was achieved by the University of California System, University of Wisconsin System, and Harvard University. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol, PLoS One, and J Biol Chem are the leading three productive journals on VDR. Various aspects of vitamin D deficiency associated disorders and genetic studies regarding VDR, including single nucleotide polymorphism, gene variants, epigenome, long non-coding ribonucleic acid (lncRNA), and small nucleolar RNA host gene 6 are potentially the recent research hotspot in this field. Moreover, coronavirus disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, gut microbiota, gestational diabetes, systemic sclerosis, and chemoresistance are the trending medical conditions associated with VDR.

A scientometric analysis on coronaviruses research (1900-2020): Time for a continuous, cooperative and global approach

Infectious diseases remain a complex, recurring, and challenging public health hazard. Coronaviruses have led to multidimensional consequences on health, mobility, and socio-economic conditions. Despite the significance and magnitude of impact from epidemics to the pandemic, literature is sparse on comprehensive coronaviruses related research performance over time. This study aimed at a scientometric evaluation of coronaviruses related literature including COVID-19. Data related to Coronavirus research was extracted from the Web of Science (WoS). All types of publications (28,846) were included and retrieved. To measure the quantity and quality of the publications, "R-Bibliometrix" package was used for detailed analysis exploring a wide range of indicators. Generally, an increasing trend was observed over time led by the USA and China followed by the United Kingdom, Europe, and few other developed countries. The last two decades contributed around 39.5% of documents while only 06 months of 2020 additionally contributed around 46.5% of total documents. Earlier shorter spikes of increased post epidemic publications followed by decreased productivity were detected in the last 2 decades and showed a lack of continuity-'a research epidemic following a disease epidemic'. Articles (53.4%) were the most common publication type. Journal of Virology, British Medical Journal (BMJ), and Virology were leading sources while BMJ, and Lancet showed increased contributions recently. Overall, similar trends of top authors were observed in terms of productivity, impact, collaborations, funding sources, and affiliations with few exceptions mainly from affected regions. Top 20 countries contributed >89% of documents suggesting a lack of global efforts. Networking was found to be mainly among developed nations with limited contributions from resource-limited countries perhaps requiring more cooperation. Recent post-COVID publications rise is highest, unprecedented, and rapidly growing. Authors strongly recommend recent COVID-19 pandemic as a call for continuous, more cooperative, and collective global research.

Global research on Fabry's disease: Demands for a rare disease

Background

Fabry disease (FD), the second most prevalent lysosomal storage disorder, is classified as a rare disease. It often leads to significant quality of life impairments and premature death. Many cases remain undiagnosed due to the rarity and heterogeneity. Further, costs related to treatment often constitute a substantial financial burden for patients and health systems. While its epidemiology is still unclear, newborn screenings suggest that its actual prevalence rate is significantly higher than previously suspected.

Methods

Based on well‐established methodologies, this study gives an overview about the background of the development of FD‐related research and provides a critical view of future needs.

Results

On the grounds of benchmarking findings, an increasing research activity on FD can be observed. Most publishing countries are the USA, some European countries, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. In general, high‐income countries publish comparably more on FD than low‐ or middle‐income economies. The countries' financial and infrastructural background are unveiled as crucial factors for the FD research activity.

Conclusions

Overall, there is a need to foster FD research infrastructure in developing and emerging countries with focus on cost‐intensive genetic research that is independent from economic interests of big pharmaceutical companies.

New quality and quantity indices in science (NewQIS): results of the first decade-project progress review

Strategies employing information science and scientometric approaches were introduced to science policy and management over the past decades. As a rapidly evolving field, new bibliometric parameters are proposed and discussed continuously and the fields also benefits from the introduction of novel visualization techniques. The present article summarizes the experiences with a platform that combines geographical mapping with scientometrics. It was established between 2005 and 2008 at the Charité in Berlin and termed “New Quality and Quantity Indices in Science” (NewQIS), consisting of the integration of common scientometric parameters such as the h-index and novel visualization techniques including density equalizing mapping. NewQIS was used to assess socio-economic important fields of medicine and sciences. Within NewQIS studies, research activities, citation patterns and their relation to socio-economic figures were analyzed with regard to time periods, countries, continents or even single cities. Within the decade after its establishment, more than 80 NewQIS articles were peer-reviewed and published. Being a non-funded low budget project, it was used by many medical students to conduct their MD thesis. The narrow technical frame led to the chance of a comparison of research output between different fields of science. This article summarizes NewQIS 1.0 activities, discusses its limits and gives a look into the future of NewQIS 2.0 with a target of 200 evaluated entities of the biomedical field of sciences.

The Effect of Clothing on Vitamin D Status, Bone Turnover Markers, and Bone Mineral Density in Young Kuwaiti Females

Many Arab women in the Gulf region cover their bodies for cultural and religious reasons, limiting the skin's exposure to sunlight and therefore its ability to synthesize vitamin D. The aim of this study is to determine whether the clothing style of Kuwaiti premenopausal women affects their vitamin D status, bone marker expression, and bone density. Three groups of healthy unmarried single Kuwaiti females (20-35 years old; n=30 per group) were recruited randomly from the general community: a control group who wear Western-style clothing (unveiled group), a group who wear a hejab that covers the whole body except for the face and hands (hejab group), and a group who wear a black veil with the entire body covered (veiled group). Bone mineral density (BMD), bone markers (procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide [P1NP], osteocalcin, and β-CrossLaps), 25-hydroxy vitamin D, intact parathyroid hormone [iPTH], and calcitonin were measured. The bone marker osteocalcin was significantly higher in the hejab group compared to the control group, whereas P1NP and β-CrossLaps were significantly higher in the veiled group compared to the control group. 25-hydroxy vitamin D, iPTH, calcitonin, and BMD were not significantly different across the three groups despite the observed elevation in bone turnover markers. The majority of participants in all three groups exhibited vitamin D deficiency; however, the lowest vitamin D levels were observed among the hejab and veiled participants. These findings suggest that clothing style may contribute to vitamin D deficiency in young Kuwaiti women.