Global research hotspots and trends of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis comorbidity from 2005 to 2025: a bibliometric and visualized analysis

Aim: Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are two common skeletal disorders that often occur together, a condition known as comorbidity. Bibliometrics were used to visualize the literature on osteoporosis and osteoarthritis comorbidity and to explore the research progress and trends in this field. Methods: A bibliometric analysis of literature on osteoporosis and osteoarthritis comorbidity from 2005 to 2025 in the Web of Science database was conducted using CiteSpace and VOSviewer to map and visualize authors, countries/institutions, journals, and keywords in the field. Results: A total of 3,021 articles were retrieved, and the overall number of articles was on the rise. The author with the most publications was Reginster, Jean-Yves (53). The country with the most publications was China (880). The journal with the most publications was Osteoporosis International (102). It was found that universities had the highest number of publications in this field. The most frequently cited literature was “Radiological assessment of osteo-arthrosis”. The most frequent keyword was osteoporosis. A total of 4 clusters were obtained using keyword cluster analysis: #0 bone mineral density, #1 stem cells, #2 subchondral bone, and #3 disease. The keywords with the highest burst intensity were subchondral bone, mesenchymal stem cells, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. These keywords have remained important since their emergence. Conclusions: This field is generally on the rise. The focus of research has shifted to the study of comorbid cellular and molecular pathological mechanisms. There are still many challenges in this area. In the future, the path of comorbidity should be identified to promote the translation of basic research findings into clinical applications.