Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends and Future Development Directions in Bile Acids and Primary Biliary Cholangitis

This study aims to analyze the evolution of research interest and key focus areas in bile acids and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) within the global medical community. Based on 1,246 articles related to bile acids and PBC published between 1980 and 2024, retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database, we conducted a visual analysis using VOSviewer software. The analysis covered metrics including annual publication output, citation frequency, average citations per article, journal names and their impact factors, contributing countries/regions, institutions, and authors.Statistical results showed that research in this field involved 52 countries worldwide. Among these, 190 institutions participated in no fewer than 4 international collaborative projects, with the University of California, Davis (USA), University of Birmingham (UK), and Medical University of Vienna (Austria) being the most active. Among 167 authors who had published at least 5 internationally co-authored papers, Erik M. Gershwin had the highest co-authorship frequency. The core journals with the highest total link strength were Hepatology, Gastroenterology, and Journal of Hepatology.From the perspective of citation hotspots, "primary biliary cholangitis" formed a knowledge cluster with high academic influence. Since 2010, keywords such as "ursodeoxycholic acid dosage", "farnesoid X receptor", "mouse experiment", "biochemical reaction", "activation", "obeticholic acid", "primary biliary cholangitis", and "cirrhosis" have frequently appeared, reflecting the latest research trends in PBC.This bibliometric analysis of bile acids and PBC highlights research trends, influential studies, and collaborative networks. It further summarizes key academic contributions and provides a basis for identifying future research directions.