Research trends of exercise therapy of college students in depression from 2002 to 2022: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

BackgroundDepression is a serious psychological disorder that college students are experiencing. College students’ depression problems, which can be caused by various factors, have been easily ignored and untreated. In recent years, exercise, as a low-cost and easily accessible method for treating depression, has attracted widespread attention. The purpose of this study is to use bibliometrics to explore the hotspots and trends in the field of exercise therapy of college students in depression from 2002 to 2022.MethodsWe retrieved relevant literature from the Web of Science (WoS), PubMed, and Scopus databases, and generated a ranking table to describe the core productivity in the field. We used VOSViewer software to generate network maps of authors, countries, co-cited journals, and co-occurring keywords to help us better understand the scientific collaboration patterns, potential disciplinary foundations, as well as research hotspots and trends in this field.ResultsFrom 2002 to 2022, a total of 1,397 articles related to exercise therapy of college students in depression were selected. The key findings of this study are as follows: (1) the number of publications has gradually increased, especially after 2019; (2) United States and its affiliated higher education institutions have made significant contributions to the development of this field; (3) there are multiple research groups in this field, but their connections are relatively limited; (4) the field is relatively interdisciplinary, primarily a convergence of behavioral science, public health, and psychology; (5) based on co-occurring keyword analysis, six main themes were summarized: health-promoting factors, body image, negative behaviors, increased stress, depression coping strategies, and diet.ConclusionOur study illustrates the research hotspots and trends for the research of exercise therapy of college students in depression, presents some challenges and new insights, and provides valuable information for further research.

Research trend of epigenetics and depression: adolescents' research needs to strengthen

“…Qualitative reviews may carry potential subjective biases (Hosseini et al, 2018), emphasizing the necessity for a systematic evaluation of the relationship between epigenetics and depression using quantitative methodologies. Therefore, in order to achieve a comprehensive assessment, we focused on the most widely used and standardized database, Web of Science (WoS) (Zhu et al, 2023), and employed the VOSViewer software for quantitative analysis and visualization of literature (Ai et al, 2023).…”

Artificial intelligence significantly facilitates development in the mental health of college students: a bibliometric analysis

“…They offer an opportunity to understand information within a research field and facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration. As a measurable information science method, bibliometrics analyze emerging trends and knowledge structures within a field to obtain quantifiable, repeatable, and objective data ( Ai et al, 2023 ; Kuang et al, 2023 ). Although some reviews have summarized the application of AI in the mental health of college students ( Abd-Alrazaq et al, 2024 ), bibliometric methods have not yet been applied to this research field.…”