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The phenomenon of population aging is being witnessed around the world owing to advances in medical technology and the decline in birth rates. This phenomenon produces many problems. Many literature sources point out that population aging is a matter of concern globally. However, no previous study has undertaken a comprehensive informetric analysis on this topic. To fill this research gap, this study examines the research patterns and trends of population aging from the perspective of social network analysis and also explores the most influential scholars, institutions, and countries in this field.
Relevant data were collected between 2002 and 2016 from the Scopus database and divided into three periods: the pre-period (2002 to 2006), the medium-term period (2007 to 2011), and the later period (2012 to 2016). This study used co-word analysis to reveal patterns and trends in population aging so as to help researchers identify critical research gaps.
The results of this study revealed the degree of research on different themes of population aging in each period. It also found that the themes were scattered and that mainstream issues had not yet developed in the pre-period because that was just the beginning of the research. The medium-term topics were more diverse than those in the pre-period. Mainstream issues such as chronic disease, obesity, social support, life course and China also appeared during this period. In the later period, research themes of population aging tended to be even more diversified and included mainstream topics such as cardiovascular disease, cancer mortality, muscle, Australia, health care planning and health expenditures. Many themes such as social security, health, pensions and epidemiology are likely to become mainstream issues in the future during this period.
The patterns of population aging revealed in this study can help researchers identify critical research gaps and find proper collaborators. Governments and other relevant organizations may also allocate more resources to efficient academics and institutions on the basis of our results in order to promote the development of this field. | en_US |