Exploring research trends in health effects of 5G antennas: a bibliometric analysis.

Abstract

To better understand the developments and trends of studies on the health impacts of 5th Generation (5 G) antennas, a bibliometric analysis of the literature published in the Web of Science database from 2012 to 2025 was conducted. Before the analysis, the dosimetric quantities "specific absorption rate (SAR)" and "power density (Sab)" used in the examination of the health impacts of antennas were thoroughly defined, and their required limits were provided. Subsequently, information visualization technology was utilized to investigate the yearly distribution of literature, author contributions and collaboration, productive and influential institutions and countries/territories, co-citation analysis, and keyword co-occurrence. However, anticipated publication and citation numbers for the coming years (2025-2029) were predicted regarding the potential health impacts of 5 G antennas using artificial intelligence-assisted forecasting methods. There has been a considerable increase in studies related to health impacts measured by SAR and Sab dosimetric quantities over the last five years, in line with the number of articles published on 5 G antennas. Despite this, no bibliometric analysis has been done so far on the health impact of 5 G antennas below and above 6 GHz. The data presented in this bibliometric study to fill the gap on this subject will provide a better understanding of the health impacts and unique insights to offer good research guidance on 5 G antennas and their attributed adverse health impacts.