Covid-19 and Thyroid: A Scopus-based Bibliometric Assessment of Research Output

Introduction: A bibliometric assessment of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19)-related thyroid research is unavailable. Materials and Methods: We searched Elsevier’s Scopus database for publications on Covid-19 and thyroid disease up to August 18, 2021, using a predefined search strategy. The data were analyzed by publication characteristics, the most active countries, institutions, authors, journals, citations, and research trends. Results: The global publications totaled 599; 446 (74.4%) were original articles. Only 18.0% (108) were funded, but these received higher citations per paper (CPP) than the non-funded publications (average CPP 14.8 versus 9.8). Of the 97 countries that participated in the research, the USA, Italy, India, and China were the most productive, whereas China, Germany, UK, and the USA were the most impactful. The studied patient population groups were “Adults” (50.5%), “Middle-Aged” (33.7%), “Aged” (29.3%), “Children” (7.8%), and “Adolescents” (6.5%). The research organizations and authors numbered 272 and 404, respectively. The most productive organizations were Universita Degli Studi Napoli, Italy, Harvard Medical School, USA, and Universita Degli Studi Milano, Italy. The most productive authors were G. Troncone, L. Glovanella, and G. Anedda. The top productive journals were Endocrine, Journal of Endocrine Investigation, and Frontiers in Endocrinology. Only 22 (3.6%) were highly-cited (average CPP 141.8). Conclusion: The Covid-19 research concerning thyroid disorders has been largely conducted in the USA and Europe with contributions from China and India. There is a need to foster collaboration between high- and low-income countries for formulating better strategies to tackle thyroidrelated morbidities in Covid-19. Additionally, such research should involve younger age groups.