Climate Change and Non-Communicable Diseases: A Bibliometric, Content, and Topic Modeling Analysis

This study examines research on the impact of climate change (CC) on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) using bibliometric analysis, topic modeling, and content analysis. Articles published in the Web of Science database between 2000 and 2024 were analyzed. VOSviewer and Biblioshiny were used for bibliometric analysis and Python for topic modeling. In addition, the 50 most cited articles were content analyzed. The results show that there has been an increasing number of publications over time and that the research originates predominantly from high/very high Human Development Index (HDI) countries, especially China and the United States, rather than from low HDI countries. These countries also have strong international cooperation networks. Topic modeling shows that high/very high HDI countries work on a balanced range of topics, while low HDI countries focus primarily on environmental impacts. Thematic analysis shows that research topics are evolving, diversifying, and deepening. As a result, the literature on CC-NCDs is expanding and deepening, thus providing evidence-based information for global public health interventions. However, in countries with low HDI and the most vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, the volume of publications, thematic diversity, and international cooperation are significantly low. Unfortunately, from a public health policy perspective, global climate change is far from being a problem that any country can solve alone. Global cooperation is, therefore, essential.