Highly cited articles in the field of male infertility and antioxidants: A scientometric analysis

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this scientometric analysis was to recognize the top 100 cited articles on 'Male infertility and Antioxidants' and analyze its publication characteristics. Materials and Methods: The Scopus database was used to retrieve related articles and the top 100 identified based on citation rate. Results: The articles were published in 56 journals between 1995 and 2019 with a median (interquartile range) citation score of 17 (5-62). Among the top 100 articles, 69 were clinical studies, which included controlled and blinded (33.33%), prospective (27.54%), randomized-controlled trials (26.09%), uncontrolled (11.59%), and retrospective (1.45%) studies. In addition to conventional semen parameters, advanced sperm function tests such as oxidative stress (51%) and sperm DNA damage (23%) were reported. Pregnancy rate (33%) was found to be the most reported reproductive outcome. Antioxidant therapy was mostly investigated in male cohorts with sperm abnormalities such as asthenozoospermia (28%) and clinical conditions such as idiopathic male infertility (20%), varicocele/varicocelectomy (17%) and general male infertility (16%). Conclusions: The most influential publications on antioxidants and male infertility were identified for the first time in the literature. This will serve as a reliable source of information for researchers and clinicians alike.