Sarcopenia is a disease characterized by decreased muscle mass and loss of muscle function and is commonly diagnosed in older adults1. Sarcopenia prevalence increases with age, with men ranging from 14.3% (60-64 years) to 59.4% (75 years) and women ranging from 20.3% (60-64 years) to 48.3% (75 years)2. For individual health, sarcopenia enhances the risk of falls, fractures, heart disease, respiratory disease, cognitive impairment, progressive impairment in activities of daily living, and quality of life in older adults. As for the burden of health care, sarcopenia increases the risk of hospitalization, the cost of care during hospitalization, and hospital admission for older adults1.

In the United States, healthcare expenses linked with sarcopenia are estimated to be around $18.5 billion, or 1.5% of total healthcare spending3. As the world's population ages, the global elderly population is predicted to reach around 2 billion by 2050. Since the prevalence of sarcopenia would rise by then, the resulting societal and medical costs will be immense4. Therefore, developing and optimizing current geriatric sarcopenia therapies is a significant issue of great social value and must be undertaken.

Currently, the leading therapies for sarcopenia are divided into pharmacotherapy, nutritional support, and strength training. In addition to their therapeutic effects on diabetes, drugs such as sodium-glucose co-transport protein two inhibitors, metformin, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, and Dipeptidyl peptidase four inhibitors, are also anti-muscular atrophy and improve skeletal muscle function, with the potential to improve the potential for sarcopenia5. Classically used cardiovascular drug losartan has the benefit of improving muscle loss, skeletal muscle atrophy, and muscle remodeling through activation of IGF-1/Akt/mTOR signaling, as well as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant5. Growth hormone increases skeletal muscle mass through mechanisms such as promoting Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 production and inhibiting muscle growth inhibitor levels5. Particular nutrient supplementation and specific dietary patterns benefit muscle health. Protein supplementation maintains nitrogen balance and is beneficial in improving muscle mass and strength loss in sarcopenia6. Vitamin D has been shown to improve muscle mass and increase muscle strength in patients with sarcopenia combined with vitamin D deficiency6. In addition, the antioxidant omega-3 fatty acids protect against muscle mass loss, which may be related to its modulatory effects on the ubiquitin-proteasome and autophagy-lysosome systems6,7. The Mediterranean diet, rich in vegetables and fruits, helps maintain muscle mass and physical capacity and prevents the development of sarcopenia and weakness7. Some safe and well-tolerated strength training, including whole-body vibration and resistance training, increases strength and muscle mass and improves physical performance, especially in elderly patients with sarcopenia8,9.

The application of bibliometric analysis in the scientific area has been overgrown in recent years due to advancements in bibliometric software such as Leximancer, VOSviewer, and Citespace, as well as scientific databases like Scopus and Web of Science. Bibliometric analysis is a quantitative technique used to analyze publication data, such as the number of publications, countries, institutions, authors, and keywords10. Further, bibliometric methods can provide researchers with information on the evolution of research directions and the frontiers of development in a specific target area of study11.

To the best of our knowledge, several bibliometric analyses examined trends and future directions in the research related to sarcopenia. Yuan and Xiao analyzed the research trends and future directions in sarcopenia for 2002-2021 and 1999-2021, respectively12,13. In addition, Wu et al. analyzed the research hotspots and future directions related to the research in nutrition and sarcopenia14. However, none of these bibliometric analyses in the search algorithm restricted sarcopenia to geriatric adults. This bibliometric research provides the publication trends and prospective hotspots of geriatric sarcopenia therapies for the first time. The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) 2, updated in 2019, stated that in addition to aging, some non-aging factors, such as chronic diseases, lack of exercise, and malnutrition, also promote the progression of sarcopenia. Distinguishing from aging-related primary sarcopenia, sarcopenia caused by these non-aging factors is defined as secondary sarcopenia1. This study found that some non-aging factors, such as malnutrition, skeletal muscle obesity, obesity, insulin resistance, and cancer, constitute a popular theme in research on geriatric sarcopenia therapies. Management programming for geriatric sarcopenia is still in its infancy15. Focusing on geriatric sarcopenia associated with different diseases, such as diabetes, malnutrition, and tumor cachexia, will provide meaningful references for optimizing and updating more targeted and effective management protocols for the geriatric sarcopenic population.