A scientometric analysis of indoor air pollution research during 1990–2019

Abstract

Indoor air pollution (IAP) is one of the leading risk factors for various adverse health outcomes including premature deaths globally. Even though research related to IAP has been carried out, bibliometric studies with particular emphasis on this topic have been lacking. Here, we investigated IAP research from 1990 to 2019 retrieved from the Web of Science database through a comprehensive and systematic scientometric analysis using the CiteSpace 5.7.R2, a powerful tool for visualizing structural, temporal patterns and trends of a scientific field. There was an exponential increase in publications, however, with a stark difference between developed and developing countries. The journals publishing IAP related research had multiple disciplines; ‘Indoor Air’ journal that focuses solely on IAP issues ranked fifth among top-cited journals. The terms like ‘global burden’, ‘comparative risk assessment,’ ‘household air pollution (HAP)', ‘ventilation’, ‘respiratory health’, ‘emission factor’, ‘impact,’ ‘energy’, ‘household’, ‘India’ were the current topical subject where author Kirk R. Smith was identified with a significant contribution. Research related to rural, fossil-fuel toxicity, IAP, and exposure-assessment had the highest citation burst signifying the particular attention of scientific communities to these subjects. Overall, this study examined the evolution of IAP research, identified the gaps and provided future research directions.