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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Neurol.

Sec. Neurorehabilitation

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1526506

This article is part of the Research Topic Temporal and Spatial Dynamics in Depression: Innovative Approaches for Treatment and Prevention View all 3 articles

Research hotspots and trends of post-stroke depression rehabilitation: a bibliometric analysis from 2003 to 2024

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Nantong University, Nantong, China
  • 2 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Center, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 3 Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a common complication of stroke and is associated with stroke prognosis. Rehabilitation plays an essential role in the comprehensive treatment of PSD. However, there are few bibliometric analyses of studies on PSD rehabilitation. This study aimed to comprehensively sort out the network of PSD rehabilitation through bibliometric analyses, analyze the research trends, focus on the hotspots related to PSD rehabilitation, and provide new research perspectives and guidance for future studies. Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database was searched for studies about depression rehabilitation after a stroke. The search covered the period from January 1, 2003, to October 31, 2024. We analyzed countries, institutions, journals, authors and keywords using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software to create visualizations and perform a bibliometric analysis. Results: A total of 2,227 papers were analyzed, with an increasing trend in the number of papers published each year. The United States had the highest number of published articles (458 publications), and Maastricht University and Utrecht University were the most published institutions (56 articles). Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is the journal with the most cited publications (5913 citations). Johanna M. A. is the most prolific author (24 publications). Conclusion: Using bibliometric methods, relevant studies on PSD rehabilitation were reviewed. The hotspots of future research on PSD rehabilitation will center on the brain plasticity mechanism of PSD rehabilitation, PSD assessment, and new techniques of PSD rehabilitation. This article provides systematic information to support and guide future research in this area.

    Keywords: post-stroke depression, Rehabilitation, VOSviewer, Citespace, bibliometric analysis

    Received: 11 Nov 2024; Accepted: 24 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Cai, Cai, Li and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Aisong Guo, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Center, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, Jiangsu Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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