Current status and trends of gut microbiota in the study of cognitive impairment in the elderly

Background Cognitive impairment in older persons has become a major public health concern as the world’s population ages more quickly. A reduction in thinking, learning, and memory skills that affects a person’s day-to-day activities or social functioning is referred to as cognitive impairment. The connection between gut microbiota and cognitive decline has attracted a lot of interest lately. However, this rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field presents an increasingly complex knowledge structure, with existing evidence being highly fragmented and subject to significant methodological and sample size limitations. Goal This study adopts a bibliometrics perspective, summarising and outlining the current state and developmental trends within the field to provide a reference framework and recommendations for subsequent research. Method Based on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database and Scopus database. In WOSCC database, literature related to gut microbiota and cognitive impairment in the elderly from 1995 to 8 September 2025 was retrieved. Similarly, search for relevant literature from 1995 to 2025 in the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer software to examine data on countries, institutions, authors, journals, keywords, citations, and generate visual maps. Result A total of 406 relevant publications were retrieved from the WOSCC database. The overall publication trend is increasing. China is the country with the most published papers, and Nanjing Medical University and Zhejiang University are joint top institutions in terms of output, while in the WOS database, Hariom Yadav is the most prolific author, while Luo Ailin has the highest total link strength. In the Scopus database, Zhang, Y is the most prolific author, while Hisada, T et al. have the highest total link strength. The most common keyword is gut microbiota, followed by Alzheimer’s disease, aging, probiotics, dementia, and neuroinflammation. In addition, a total of 180 relevant literatures were retrieved from the Scopus database. Among them, the most common keywords are intestine flora, aged, cognitive defect, cognition, and gastrointestinal microbiome. Conclusion Research into the relationship between the gut microbiota and cognitive impairment is advancing steadily, yet there remains a need to strengthen collaboration between authors and institutions across different regions. Sustained interaction and exchange are essential to further explore the mechanisms of action of the gut microbiota. Based on the identified research hotspots and gaps, we suggest that future investigations could benefit from integrating multi-omics approaches to explore potential biomarkers and nutritional intervention strategies. However, these directions remain speculative and should be pursued through rigorous experimental and clinical research.