Scientometric analysis of researches on tai chi and health promotion based on literatures from 1991 to 2021

Background:
Although there are a growing number of studies on tai chi and health promotion, only a few have conducted analysis from the perspective of bibliometrics and scientometrics. This paper aimed to analyze bibliographic data of tai chi practices and health promotion in the past 30 years from the perspective of scientometrics.

Methods:
In total, 1,936 relevant articles were downloaded from the Core Collection of Web of Science [WoS; Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)] and analyzed using CiteSpace V.

Results:
China had the highest number of published articles, followed by the USA and Australia, and the vast majority of influential authors were from the USA. Most journals publishing papers on tai chi research were those concerned with geriatrics gerontology, sport sciences, and integrative complementary medicine. Our analysis indicated that studies on tai chi and health promotion could be divided into 4 knowledge groups: preventing falls in older adults, promotion of physical fitness, promotion of psychological wellbeing, and chronic disease intervention. Effects of tai chi on cognitive function are emerging trends in this field. Furthermore, topics of high-quality trials, advanced technologies, mechanistic research, and translation should be carefully considered in future research.

Conclusions:
This study may provide potentially valuable information for academics in the field of tai chi research, and give meaningful guidance and suggestions for future studies.

Keywords: CiteSpace; Tai chi; health promotion; knowledge group; scientometric analysis.

PMID: 36366896 DOI: 10.21037/apm-22-843