ArticleThe International journal of eating disorders2025
Five Decades of Eating Disorder Research: A Bibliometric Analysis of Publication Trends, Research Themes, and the Relationship Between Public and Academic Attention (1975-2024).
Article in The International journal of eating disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- High- and Low-Calorie Food Cues, Visual Attention, and Subclinical Eating Pathology in University Students Assessed by Eye Tracking.Nutrients · 2026Observational
- Centering Impact and Equity in the Next 50 Years of Eating Disorder Research.The International journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Fifty Years of Eating Disorder Research: Growth, Gaps, and Global Challenges.The International journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- The Incidence and Prevalence of Eating Disorders Between 1975 and 2024: A Commentary on Lee and Chi (2025).The International journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Reimagining Public Engagement in Eating Disorders Research.The International journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThis bibliometric study analyzed eating disorder research from 1975 to 2024, examining publication trends, research themes, and the relationship between public engagement and academic attention over five decades.
methodsData were collected from PubMed, Web of Science, APA PsycInfo, and CINAHL. Publication trends were analyzed, and leading journals were identified. Network analysis using VOSviewer identified thematic clusters, while a bump chart visualized changes in key research terms over time. Trends, associations, and influencing factors of public engagement and academic attention were assessed using Altmetric Attention Scores per Year (AASPY) and citations per year (CPY).
resultsA total of 101,993 publications were analyzed. Research output increased significantly, with the International Journal of Eating Disorders as the leading contributor. Six major research clusters were identified, and eight key terms (humans, female, anorexia nervosa, adult, adolescent, male, feeding and eating disorders, and child) remained dominant across all decades. AASPY and CPY increased over time but showed a weak correlation (R
conclusionsThe findings highlight the sustained growth of research output, the persistence of core thematic areas, and the divergence between public engagement and academic attention. By examining trends from past to present, this study provides a basis for understanding research developments and their implications for future directions in eating disorder research.
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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.