Global research trends in psychological stress and chronic diseases based on a bibliometric and scientometrics analysis from 1950 to 2025

The aim of the present study was to map the scientific landscape and to provide a quantitative and network analysis of global research on the impact of psychological stress on chronic diseases from 1950 to 2025. This descriptive and analytical study used bibliometric and scientometric methods. Data were retrieved from three international databases, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, on 20 March 2025. After removing duplicates and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 2134 original research articles were selected for final analysis. Data processing was performed in Python and analyses were conducted with VOSviewer (version 1.6.20). Descriptive indicators, author co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence, and source co-citation were examined. Of the 2134 articles published between 1950 and 2025, publication output demonstrated a consistent upward trajectory. The largest shares of publications were contributed by the United States (21.4%), the United Kingdom (9.8%), and China (8.9%). The mean annual growth rate of publications was 5.4%, and the mean citation count per article was 37.4. The overall h-index of the dataset was 125. Frequently occurring keywords included psychological stress , depression , anxiety , diabetes , and cardiovascular disease . Network analysis revealed three principal conceptual clusters, psychosocial, biological and clinical, and demographic, highlighting the multidisciplinary scope of research in this field. Bibliometric and scientometric findings indicate that research on psychological stress and chronic diseases has expanded substantially over the past two decades and is shifting toward interdisciplinary approaches and international collaboration. Strengthening global scientific interactions and focusing on understudied chronic conditions may improve future research directions.