Jiyang Li,1,* Xinxing Fei,2,* Shiqi Wang,3,4,* Zhangyu Xu,5,6 Fangyuan Xu,5,6 Jianxiong Wang,5,6 Yaqian Gao,7 Yue Hu5,6 

1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sichuan Tianfu New Area People’s Hospital, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Psychiatry, Chengdu Eighth People’s Hospital (Geriatric Hospital of Chengdu Medical College), Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Center and Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 4Key Laboratory of Rehabilitation Medicine in Sichuan Province, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, People’s Republic of China; 6Rehabilitation Medicine and Engineering Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, People’s Republic of China; 7Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Yaqian Gao; Yue Hu, Email 673509366@qq.com; huyue@swmu.edu.cn

Background: Many studies have been conducted on the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of depression. However, the overall trends in research publications in this field remain elusive. There is still little quantitative analysis of the literature in this field. Therefore, we conducted a bibliometric analysis to explore the research patterns surrounding SSRIs for depression, aiming to gain a deeper understanding of their development and impact.
Methods: Publications about the use of SSRIs for the treatment of depression were identified in the Web of Science Core Collection. Visualization analysis was performed with Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace.
Results: A total of 1149 publications published from 1990 to 2024 were included in the bibliometric analysis. Since 1990, the annual number of published papers has increased annually, reaching the maximum value of output in 2004. Fitted curve showed that after 2004, the number of publications per year was essentially stable The United States dominates the field. Among these institutions, University of Pittsburgh excels in this field. Fava M has the highest scientific productivity and extensive academic influence. European Neuropsychopharmacology is the most active journal in this field. The three most relevant keywords were “fluoxetine”, “double-blind”, and “major depression”. The trend topics in recent years were “connectivity”, “c-reactive protein”, and “anhedonia”.
Conclusion: Research on the use of SSRIs for the treatment of depression continues to receive increased attention but still requiraes further exploration and innovation. We further analyze the current research hotspots and frontiers in this field.

Keywords: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, depression, bibliometrics, double-blind, fluoxetine, major depression