Konzo is a paralytic disease in Africa caused by food toxins from intake of raw cassava ( Manihot esculenta ) due to improper cooking preparation. Its etiology is also linked with protein malnutrition. Despite epidemics, Konzo currently lacks studies on its pathophysiology and treatment. Acquiring and collating comprehensive data, citation analysis and informative statistics from previous publications could serve as initial undertaking to further efforts apropos understanding and management. Thus, Konzo research trends and collaborations from 1990 to 2022 were analyzed using bibliometrics to determine factors influencing productivity of academic papers. Results of this Scopus-based study showed a peak in publications in 2011. Analysis by authors, countries, and institutions revealed profound implications: United States, Congo and Australia are top contributors for the publications. Network collaboration demonstrated prominent themes mostly related to its cause: “cassava”, “cyanide” and “cyanogens”. Of the 154 analyzed documents, the subject area was mainly on medicine (32.7%). Socioeconomic indicators were assessed where significant correlation was found in: R&D expenditure and international research collaborations. Overall, generation of knowledge through summary and curation displayed how researchers have been interested in Konzo. However, additional support is most needed for funding Konzo research that can be substantial in facilitating the intervention for this underlooked health concern.
Marasigan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.