A Bibliometric and Knowledge‐Map Analysis of Macrophage Polarization in Insulin Resistance From 1999 to 2023

ABSTRACT Background Despite numerous studies confirming the association between insulin resistance (IR) and macrophage polarization, there is a lack of bibliometric analysis in this area. Therefore, our objective is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of published literature and identify potential future research trends using bibliometrics. Method Publications on the topic of macrophage polarization in IR were gathered from the Web of Science Core Collection database (WoSCC) spanning the years 1999–2023. Bibliometric analysis and visualization were conducted using VOSviewers, CiteSpace, the R package “bibliometrix” and Tableau Public. Result A total of 3435 articles published between 1999 and 2023 were included in the analysis. These articles originated from 75 countries, with the United States and China leading in contributions. The top five research institutions are the University of California, San Diego, Harvard University, the University of Michigan, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology. In this research domain, Diabetes is the most frequently published journal, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation is the most co‐cited. Among the 19,398 authors contributing to these publications, Lumeng CN. not only authored the most papers but also received the highest number of co‐citations. “Insulin resistance” emerges as a primary keyword in the analysis of emerging research hotspots. Conclusion For the first time, bibliometric methods have been employed to conduct a comprehensive summary of papers relevant to macrophage polarization in IR. This study aims to identify the current research direction and future research hotspots, offering valuable guidance and insights for scholars in the field.