Exploring exercise interventions in substance abuse treatment: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis

This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the research landscape related to exercise and substance abuse over the past 2 decades. A systemic bibliometric analysis was conducted using 2 powerful tools, the Bibliometrix package for R and VOSviewer software. The analysis covered a corpus of literature indexed in the Web of Science's core collection. The publication counts related to exercise interventions within the context of substance abuse from 2004 to 2023, key journals extensively publishing research on this topic, institutional affiliations contributing significantly to this field, frequently co-occurring keywords to highlight research focal areas, and citation patterns for these studies were examined. The analysis identified a total of 2110 articles during the specified period. Notably, there has been a discernible upward trend in publication volume within this field over the past 2 decades. Prominent journals featuring extensive research on this topic include Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Frontiers in Psychiatry, and International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Among the notable contributors to the field are researchers Greer TL and Trivedi MH. The University of California's system has also emerged as a leading institution, fostering collaborations with diverse research entities. The most frequently recurring keywords were exercise, substance abuse, substance use disorders, mental health, and depression, among others, highlighting the research focus. This study offers insights and recommendations for future research in the area of exercise in substance abuse, emphasizing the need to explore physiological mechanisms and psychological comorbidities to optimize exercise as a therapeutic intervention.