Research hotspots and development trends on low vision at home and abroad: a visualization analysis based on CiteSpace

Objective  To analyze the current status and trends of low vision research both nationally and internationally using the bibliometric method.

Methods  The research literature related to low vision collected from January 1, 2000, to September 30, 2024, in the core database of Web of Science and China Knowledge Network was searched, and CiteSpace 6.1.R6 software was used to conduct visual analysis from the perspectives of annual publication volume, author, country, institution distribution, keywords and clustering of the literature.

Results  A total of 3 498 publications were included, involving 125 countries or regions and 591 research institutions. Through analysis, it was found that the global volume of publications in the field of low vision was increasing overall. The United States had the largest volume of publications, the University of London had the largest volume of publications in English, and the Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention and Treatment Center had the largest volume of publications in Chinese. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science was the most cited journal. Authors such as Bourne, Mangione, and Varma had relatively high citation frequencies. The keywords analysis showed that vision impairment or visual impairment, low vision, epidemiology, quality of life had a high frequency of occurrence. The research focused on the prevalence characteristics, epidemiological status and impact on quality of life of low vision population. The keywords cluster analysis showed that high-frequency keywords were mainly clustered in the research fields of low vision etiology and risk factors, epidemiology, quality of life, mental health, etc. The keywords burst analysis showed that after 2014, the keywords burst mainly focused on psychological health, quality of life, public health, and other aspects. More attention was paid to the psychological health, quality of life improvement, and public health management of low vision groups.

Conclusions  Research on low vision covers areas such as etiology, epidemiological analysis, rehabilitation techniques, psychological intervention, and development of assistive devices. The application of emerging technologies, formulation of low vision policies, and interdisciplinary cooperation may be the development direction of low vision research in the future.