The evolutionary relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and type 2 diabetes mellitus since 1989.

BACKGROUND

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by insulin resistance and progressive decline in pancreatic beta cell function. It is a public health problem of great magnitude that has been increasing globally over the last 4 decades. The latest research has found that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), as an important dietary risk factor, are closely related to the occurrence and development of T2DM. The added sugar components such as high fructose corn syrup in SSBs significantly increase the risk of T2DM through mechanisms such as interfering with glycolipid metabolism and inducing insulin resistance. This discovery provides new ideas for an in-depth understanding of the pathogenesis of T2DM and the formulation of targeted prevention strategies. To systematically map the evolving research landscape, this research employs bibliometric analysis to identify emerging trends and patterns in understanding the interplay between SSBs and T2DM.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study looked into research trends in SSBs and T2DM using a thorough bibliometric analysis of academic publications listed in the Web of Science Core Collection (1989-2024). In this multidisciplinary field, we systematically mapped research priorities, collaborative networks, and evolving frontiers through multidimensional examination using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, the bibliometrix R package, GraphPad Prism, and the online bibliometric analysis platform (https://bibliometric.com/). To find thematic clusters, institutional contributions, and knowledge diffusion pathways within the existing literature corpus, the methodology used quantitative evaluations and sophisticated visualization techniques.

RESULTS

This comprehensive global analysis includes 3306 relevant studies. The United States maintains its leading position in publication output by concentrating productive authors and institutions, thereby ensuring its dominant academic influence. Furthermore, research on SSBs and T2DM demonstrates cross-disciplinary integration with adjacent fields, establishing interdisciplinary research platforms. Notably, the emerging keyword "burst testing" highlights promising research trajectories encompassing inflammation, intestinal microbiota, nutritional science, epidemiological studies, gut microbiome dynamics, and microbial community interactions.

CONCLUSION

This comprehensive review methodically looks at the changing research environment and new areas of interest in SSBs and T2DM. It gives scholars a thorough grasp of the major players in these specialized domains, including top countries, organizations, scholarly publications, and possible cooperation networks. Furthermore, the study establishes an evaluative framework for SSBs-T2DM research progression, emphasizing opportunities to integrate nutritional science, public health policy, and molecular biology.

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