Mapping the landscape of anaemia research in pregnant and postpartum women: a bibliometric analysis & topic modelling study.

Abstract

Background: Maternal anaemia affects 35.5% of pregnant women globally and represents a persistent public health challenge with significant maternal and neonatal health consequences. Despite substantial research investment, progress towards anaemia reduction remains limited, suggesting potential misalignment between research priorities and translation to guidance and/or implementation of recommended interventions. Understanding the knowledge structure and thematic evolution of maternal anaemia research is essential for identifying gaps and informing future research strategies and guideline development.

Objectives: This study aimed to map the knowledge structure and evolution of research on anaemia in pregnant and postpartum women from 2000 to 2024, analyse global collaboration networks and geographic distribution, and identify emerging themes and research gaps using bibliometric analysis and topic modelling.

Methods: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted using Web of Science Core Collection database, encompassing 1,007 articles published between 2000 and 2024. Standard bibliometric indicators were calculated using VOSviewer and CiteSpace software. Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modelling identified thematic clusters. Linear regression analysis examined temporal trends and geographic patterns.

Results: Publication output demonstrated exponential growth (R² = 0.9054), increasing from 12 articles in 2000 to 110 in 2024. Research output was concentrated amongst authors from high-income countries, with 68.5% of publications having first or corresponding authors based in high-income countries. Geographic disparities revealed substantial regional research gaps, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Topic modelling revealed nine clusters dominated by health outcomes research (77.4%), with less attention to management (21.6%), prevention (20.8%) and diagnosis (6.3%).

Conclusions: This bibliometric analysis reveals substantial growth in maternal anaemia research over 25 years, with publications increasing nearly ten-fold. However, the research landscape shows thematic imbalances. Sustained attention is needed on prevention and diagnosis as well as the integrated delivery of anaemia interventions within multisectoral approaches to generate evidence and address remaining knowledge gaps.