Yasen A, Gan ZD, Huang MP, Zhang XY, Hou RT, Zhen D, Xu GX, Wei CH. Research trends of ferroptosis and pyroptosis in depression: A bibliometric analysis. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(11): 124306 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.124306]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Cong-Hui Wei, PhD, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 26 Daoqian Street, Suzhou 215002, Jiangsu Province, China. wei1564292733@163.com
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Yasen A, Gan ZD, Huang MP, Zhang XY, Hou RT, Zhen D, Xu GX, Wei CH. Research trends of ferroptosis and pyroptosis in depression: A bibliometric analysis. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(11): 124306 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.124306]
Ailipinai Yasen, Zhao-Dan Gan, Dan Zhen, Rehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
Meng-Ping Huang, Rui-Tao Hou, Cong-Hui Wei, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou 215002, Jiangsu Province, China
Xin-Yu Zhang, School of Health Preservation and Rehabilitation, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610199, Sichuan Province, China
Guang-Xu Xu, Department of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Guang-Xu Xu and Cong-Hui Wei.
Author contributions: Yasen A, Gan ZD, Huang MP, and Zhang XY conceived and designed the study and identified the research topic; Yasen A, Hou RT, and Zhen D performed data processing and statistical analysis; Yasen A, Gan ZD, and Huang MP contributed to data analysis and interpretation; and Yasen A drafted the manuscript and supervised the study. All authors revised and approved the final manuscript. Xu GX and Wei CH contributed equally to the overall direction and supervision of the project, and these collective contributions underlie their merit as co-corresponding authors.
AI contribution statement: No AI tools or services were used in the writing, editing, or preparation of this manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Cong-Hui Wei, PhD, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 26 Daoqian Street, Suzhou 215002, Jiangsu Province, China. wei1564292733@163.com
Received: June 11, 2026 Revised: July 30, 2026 Accepted: September 24, 2026 Published online: November 19, 2026 Processing time: 140 Days and 17.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Depression is a major psychiatric disorder with substantial clinical and social burdens. Ferroptosis and pyroptosis/inflammasome-related signaling have emerged as potential mechanisms involved in depression; however, their research landscapes, hotspots, and developmental trends have not been comprehensively characterized.
AIM
To investigate global research trends, collaboration patterns, knowledge structure, and emerging hotspots of ferroptosis- and pyroptosis-related research in depression using bibliometric methods.
METHODS
Relevant publications through June 2, 2026 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, and bibliometric analyses were performed using VOSviewer and CiteSpace.
RESULTS
Publications on pyroptosis in depression emerged earlier and increased steadily, whereas research on ferroptosis in depression began later but expanded rapidly in recent years. China and the United States were the leading contributors to both research areas, although ferroptosis-related publications showed a greater concentration in China. International Journal of Molecular Sciences was the most productive journal in the ferroptosis dataset, while International Immunopharmacology led the pyroptosis dataset. Keyword analysis highlighted oxidative stress, iron metabolism, lipid peroxidation, neuroinflammation, NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 inflammasome signaling, microglial activation, and pathway-targeted interventions as major research themes. Although the 2 fields shared several pathological contexts, publications directly investigating their interactions in depression were relatively scarce.
CONCLUSION
Ferroptosis and pyroptosis have become increasingly important topics in depression research, with ferroptosis representing a particularly rapidly developing area. Current studies largely focus on oxidative and inflammatory mechanisms and their potential therapeutic targets. However, the limited integration of ferroptosis and pyroptosis research indicates a need for further studies examining their potential crosstalk and coordinated contribution to the pathophysiology of depression.
Core Tip: This bibliometric analysis maps the global research landscape of ferroptosis- and pyroptosis-related mechanisms in depression. Pyroptosis-related research emerged earlier, whereas ferroptosis-related research has increased rapidly in recent years. Oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, iron metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction, and targeted interventions are major themes. The findings identify leading contributors, evolving hotspots, and the need for integrated mechanistic and clinical studies to evaluate regulated cell death pathways as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for depression.
