A bibliometric analysis of research on chondrocyte apoptosis in osteoarthritis from 2009 to 2025 based on citespace and VOSviewer.

BACKGROUND

Cell apoptosis is a prominent research area in the field of osteoarthritis. However, comprehensive bibliometric analyses systematically evaluating the current state of research in this field are scarce. This study reviews the existing literature on apoptosis in osteoarthritis and identifies global research hotspots to locate future research trends in this field.

METHOD: The Web of Science core database was used as the data source to retrieve relevant studies on apoptosis in osteoarthritis published between 2009 and 2025. Subsequently, the data were subjected to comprehensive visual analysis using the R package"Bibliometrix," VOSviewer, and CiteSpace. This analysis included visualizing the publication output, examining citation patterns, and exploring the co-occurrence of high-frequency keywords to construct a visual network.

RESULT: A total of 1431 papers from 1719 institutions across 59 countries/regions were included in this study. From 2009 to 2025, a noticeable upward trend in the number of publications is observed. China contributed the highest number of published papers (n = 895). Shanghai jiao tong university exhibited the highest productivity (n = 40). Wang Y (n = 27) emerged as the most prolific contributor, and the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage was the most productive and has the largest number of citations. The analysis of high-frequency keywords revealed important themes in the field, including cartilage tissue, autophagy, inflammatory responses, proliferation, cartilage repair, cartilage degradation, extracellular vesicles, exosomes, regeneration, and network pharmacology.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights important progress in understanding cellular apoptosis in osteoarthritis (OA). China has become the leading contributor, surpassing the U.S. and South Korea. Previous research on apoptosis in OA mainly focused on inflammation, stress, and disease mechanisms. Future studies are expected to explore cartilage tissue engineering and network pharmacology, offering new strategies for treating cartilage diseases and injuries.