(P17-041-25) Attention and Citations in Eating Disorder Research: A Decade of Bibliometric Analysis (2014-2023)

Objectives: Eating disorders are complex psychiatric conditions with rising prevalence and significant implications for physical and psychological health and well-being. Understanding how research on these disorders evolves and resonates across scientific and societal domains is essential to advancing prevention and treatment strategies. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze trends, influential journals, thematic focuses, and the interplay between public and academic impact metrics in eating disorder research from 2014 to 2023.

Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted using PubMed, focusing on publications indexed under the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) term "Feeding and Eating Disorders." Metrics of public engagement (Altmetric Attention Scores, AAS) and academic influence (Crossref Citations Per Year, CCPY) were analyzed. Thematic patterns were visualized using word cloud analysis with VOSviewer to identify clusters of research topics. The top 20 publications ranked by AAS and CCPY were compared to examine thematic overlaps, differences, and keyword associations.

Results: A total of 13,175 eligible publications were identified. Research output increased steadily over the study period, with The International Journal of Eating Disorders contributing the largest volume of publications. Key topics included a focus on human populations, covering specific disorders, psychological factors, behaviors, physical characteristics, and methodologies. Six clusters of MeSH terms were categorized and visualized using a word cloud, highlighting thematic groups. A weak-to-moderate correlation was observed between AAS and CCPY (r²=0.34), reflecting different drivers of public and academic engagement. The AAS list emphasized socially relevant and timely topics, while the CCPY list prioritized foundational, methodologically robust studies.

Conclusions: This study highlights the complementary roles of public and academic metrics in evaluating research impact. Aligning research priorities with dissemination strategies can enhance societal relevance, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and advance prevention, treatment, and management of eating disorders.

Funding Sources: The authors declare that no funding was received to support this study.