Performance analysis and science mapping on the effect of air pollution on child health: a bibliometric study from 2003–2023

To evaluate the progression of studies conducted to assess the impact of air pollution on child health through a bibliometric analysis.

Chronic air pollution has an adverse impact on the health outcomes of the population globally. Children are more vulnerable and exposed to the negative health consequences of air contamination. Surprisingly, the global health emergency stemming from children's exposure to air pollution has been largely overlooked. Data were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database covering the period from January 2003 to September 9, 2023. However, this study mainly focuses on the publication trends, most prolific authors, journals, countries, and institutions in this research area. It also identifies top-cited papers, keyword occurrences, citation bursts, and thematic analysis using open-source software tools (viz. VOSviewer, Biblioshiny, and CiteSpace) for science mapping and performance analysis.

Over the period of study, results revealed a consistent growth in the number of publications has taken place. The USA has received more attention in recent years. Also, this study highlights the influential journals, institutions, and authors who made significant contributions in this area of research. In addition, in order of occurrence the top twenty burst words were obtained and analyzed. Furthermore, thematic analysis reveals that “indoor air pollution,” “household air pollution”, and "exposure assessment" are the emerging themes, which need to be further developed with multidisciplinary integration.

Our findings provide a comprehensive insight for future research directions to researchers interested in exploring the emerging patterns in the area of child health and air pollution.