Mapping the Global Research Landscape: A Bibliometric Analysis of Clinical Trials on Skin Aging-Trends, Innovations, and Research Gaps.

Abstract

Skin aging is a multifaceted biological process influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. It involves changes at the tissue, cellular, and molecular levels. Recently, clinical trials have provided growing evidence across various aspects of skin aging. This study provides a thorough analysis of scientific publications on clinical trials related to skin aging. It includes publications indexed in the Scopus database between 2005 and 2024, retrieved using a wide array of pertinent keywords. Following this, network analysis and visualization were performed with VOSviewer (v. 1.6.20) to map research trends and pinpoint emerging research hotspots. From 2005 to 2024, 550 publications investigated the relationship between clinical trials and skin aging. Over the past two decades, the number of publications in this field has increased significantly (R² = 0.9346; p < 0.001), from seven in 2005 to 93 in 2024. This growth can be divided into two phases: a gradual increase from 2005 to 2015, followed by a period of rapid expansion from 2016 to 2024. The United States leads with 128 publications, representing 23.27% of the total. South Korea ranks second with 81 publications (14.73%), China ranks third with 54 publications (9.82%), and Italy ranks fourth with 49 publications (8.91%). Recent studies have concentrated on several key areas, including "topical anti-aging treatments and nutraceuticals," "patient safety and satisfaction in laser and light-based therapies, with a focus on adverse effects and clinical trial findings," and "clinical trials examining oral supplements for skin wrinkling and aging." This analysis underscores the pressing need for ongoing research and collaboration to enhance patient outcomes and the efficacy of anti-aging treatments, especially those involving topical treatments, nutraceuticals, and oral supplements.Level of Evidence V This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors   www.springer.com/00266 .