Bibliometric analysis of papers on inflammation in glaucoma from 2000 to 2025

To perform a bibliometric analysis of publications focusing on inflammatory mechanisms in glaucoma, thereby comprehensively understanding the current research status and identifying potential frontier directions for future studies.

A systematic search was conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database to retrieve relevant literature published from January 1, 2000, to August 31, 2025 (data accessed on September 12, 2025). Multiple data visualization tools were employed to conduct in-depth analyses of the included publications, covering aspects such as publication quantity and quality, evolutionary trends of research hotspots, keyword co-occurrence networks, and collaborative patterns among countries/regions, institutions, and authors.

A total of 3381 articles related to glaucoma inflammation were extracted from WoSCC. The analysis showed that the USA had the highest research output in this field (29.04%, n=982), followed by China (18.40%, n=622) and UK (6.01%, n=203). Based on citation frequency and burst intensity, the USA also ranked as the most influential country. Baudouin C and Sun X were identified as the most productive authors, while Journal of Glaucoma and Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science were the journals with the highest number of published relevant articles. Additionally, keyword analysis revealed that “neuroinflammation”, “retinal ganglion cells (RGCs)”, “pathophysiology”, and “traditional Chinese medicine” are emerging research hotspots in the field of immune-inflammatory responses in glaucoma.

This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric overview of research on glaucoma-related inflammation, indicating that this field has received extensive scientific attention with a steady upward trend in research activity. Furthermore, it establishes a theoretical basis for the development of neuroinflammation-targeted therapeutic strategies for glaucoma and emphasizes the necessity of strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration to promote the clinical translation of research findings.