Network Analysis of Sport-related Concussion Research During the Past Decade (2010–2019)

Abstract

Context: There has been substantial growth over the past decade in sport-related concussion (SRC) research, yet no research to date has synthesized developments over this critical time period. Objective : to apply a network analysis approach to evaluate trends in the sport-related concussion (SRC) literature using a comprehensive search of original, peer-reviewed research articles involving human participants published between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2019. Design : Narrative review. Main Outcome Measures : Bibliometric maps were derived from a comprehensive search of all published, peer-reviewed SRC articles on the Web of Science database. A clustering algorithm was used to evaluate associations among journals, organizations/institutions, authors, and keywords. The online search yielded 6,130 articles, 528 journals, 7,598 authors, 1,966 organizations, and 3,293 keywords. Results : The analysis supported five thematic clusters of journals: 1. Biomechanics/Sports medicine (n=15), 2. Pediatrics/Rehabilitation (n=15), 3. Neurotrauma/Neurology/Neurosurgery (n=11), 4. General Sports Medicine (n=11), 5. Neuropsychology (n=7). The analysis identified four organizational clusters with hub institutions: 1. University of North Carolina (n=19), 2. University of Toronto (n=19), 3. University of Michigan (n=11), 4. University of Pittsburgh (n=10). Network analysis revealed 8 clusters for SRC keywords, each with a central topic area: 1. Epidemiology (n=14), 2. Rehabilitation (n=12), 3. Biomechanics (n=11), 4. Imaging (n=10), 5. Assessment (n=9), 6. Mental health/Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (n=9), 7. Neurocognition (n=8), 8. Symptoms/impairments (n=5). Conclusions : The findings suggest that during the past decade SRC research has: 1) been published primarily in sports medicine, pediatric, and neuro-focused journals, 2) involved a select group of researchers from several key institutions, and 3) focused on new topic areas including treatment/rehabilitation and mental health.