ArticleFrontiers in public health2022
Thirty years of research on physical activity, mental health, and wellbeing: A scientometric analysis of hotspots and trends.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 31 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Self-efficacy in exercise behaviour in persons with a diagnosed condition: a systematic evidence map.BMJ open · 2026Pooled it
- Spectrum of mental health among students: A scientometric analysis of 20 years of research on depression and anxiety.Medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Global research trends in bacteriophage and gut microbiota: a bibliometric and visual analysis from 2012 to 2025.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Social capital and physical activity: a literature review up to March 2024.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Padel, pickleball and wellbeing: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Predictors of adherence to exercise interventions in people with schizophrenia.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2024Trial
- Effectiveness of Mobile-Based Progressive and Fixed Physical Activity on Depression, Stress, Anxiety, and Quality of Life Outcomes Among Adults in South Korea: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Trial
- A Web-Based Intervention Using "Five Ways to Wellbeing" to Promote Well-Being and Mental Health: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mental health · 2024Trial
- Macrophage bibliometric study and visualization in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2025Review
- Relationship between periodontitis and systemic diseases: A bibliometric and visual study.Periodontology 2000 · 2025Review
- The efficacy, mechanisms and implementation of physical activity as an adjunctive treatment in mental disorders: a meta-review of outcomes, neurobiology and key determinants.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2025Article
- Developing a co-designed, culturally responsive physical activity program for Pasifika communities in Western Sydney, Australia.Health promotion international · 2025Article
- Applications of artificial intelligence in orthodontics: a bibliometric and visual analysis.Clinical oral investigations · 2025Review
- Age-related variations in physical activity, happiness, and psychological well-being: Evidence from Iran.PloS one · 2025Article
- Beyond the pandemic: physical activity and health behaviors as predictors of well-being among Filipino tertiary students.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Development and validation of the physical fitness test anxiety scale for college students.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- The hot spots and global trends of prevention and treatment in postoperative delirium (POD) from 2004 to 2023: A bibliometric analysis.Surgery open science · 2024Review
- Worldwide research landscape of artificial intelligence in lung disease: A scientometric study.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Research hotspots and frontiers of vagus nerve stimulation in stroke: a bibliometric analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Review
- Knowledge Structure and Emerging Trends of Mild Cognitive Impairment with Dyssomnias in Recent 20 Years: A Bibliometric Analysis via CiteSpace and VOSviewer.Behavioural neurology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The sheer volume of research publications on physical activity, mental health, and wellbeing is overwhelming. The aim of this study was to perform a broad-ranging scientometric analysis to evaluate key themes and trends over the past decades, informing future lines of research. We searched the Web of Science Core Collection from inception until December 7, 2021, using the appropriate search terms such as "physical activity" or "mental health," with no limitation of language or time. Eligible studies were articles, reviews, editorial material, and proceeding papers. We retrieved 55,353 documents published between 1905 and 2021. The annual scientific production is exponential with a mean annual growth rate of 6.8% since 1989. The 1988-2021 co-cited reference network identified 50 distinct clusters that presented significant modularity and silhouette scores indicating highly credible clusters (
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.