Research status and trends on meta-analyses in ankylosing spondylitis from 2007 to 2024: A bibliometric analysis

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), as an inflammatory autoimmune disease, is the most typical clinical type of spondyloarthritis. Over the past decades, meta-analyses has made tremendous progress in AS. This study aimed to visualize the hotspots and trends using bibliometric analysis to provide a comprehensive overview of the meta-analysis research papers in the field of AS. Methods: A comprehensive search of publications on meta-analyses in AS from 2007 to 2024 was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection database. Bibliometric analysis was performed using bibliometrix package, VOSviewer and CiteSpace software. Results: Following screening, a total of 507 articles were downloaded, and the number of relevant articles published showed an increasing trend year by year. China, USA and the England were the most productive countries. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases was the most productive journal (54, 10.65%), while Pan, Faming was the most productive author (23, 4.54%), and Anhui Medical University (45, 8.88%) was the most productive institution. The high-frequency keywords were mainly clustered into five themes, including complications, biologics, physiotherapy exercises, gut microbiota, and methods of analysis. Conclusion: The rapid increase in the number of meta-analyses of AS in recent years highlights the importance of this research field. Research in the field was focused on aspects like risk factor, network meta-analysis and quality-of-life. Such insights are valuable for understanding of AS-related research progress, enabling the concern for both essential medical therapy and the quality of life of patients for researchers and clinicians.