Highly Cited Articles in the Field of Male Infertility and Antioxidants: A Scientometric Analysis

Abstract

Purpose The objective of this scientometric analysis was to recognize the top 100 cited articles on ‘Male infertility and Antioxidants’ and analyze its publication characteristics.

Materials and Methods The Scopus database was used to retrieve related articles and the top 100 identified based on citation rate.

Results The articles were published in 56 journals between 1995 and 2019 with a median (interquartile range) citation score of 17 (5–62). Among the top 100 articles, 69 were clinical studies, which included controlled and blinded (33.33%), prospective (27.54%), randomized-controlled trials (26.09%), uncontrolled (11.59%), and retrospective (1.45%) studies. In addition to conventional semen parameters, advanced sperm function tests such as oxidative stress (51%) and sperm DNA damage (23%) were reported. Pregnancy rate (33%) was found to be the most reported reproductive outcome. Antioxidant therapy was mostly investigated in male cohorts with sperm abnormalities such as asthenozoospermia (28%) and clinical conditions such as idiopathic male infertility (20%), varicocele/varicocelectomy (17%) and general male infertility (16%).

Conclusions The most influential publications on antioxidants and male infertility were identified for the first time in the literature. This will serve as a reliable source of information for researchers and clinicians alike.