Kuang Hock Lim

Introduction: Tobacco usage continues to pose a considerable public health challenge in Malaysia, with a predominant number of smokers initiating use during adolescence. The rapid increase of alternative nicotine products, especially e-cigarettes, has changed tobacco consumption trends among...

Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) is the primary vector for dengue, Zika and chikungunya, which represent major global public health concerns. The use of Wolbachia as a biological control agent in Ae. aegypti has gained significant international attention following the successful establishment of field-released mosquitoes in Australia, Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia and Singapore. This study presents a comprehensive scientometric analysis of the research landscape of Wolbachia and Ae. aegypti. Data comprising 662 English-language publications from 2000 to 2025 were extracted from the Scopus database. Analytic tools, including VOSviewer and R-based Biblioshiny, were employed to quantify author productivity, transcontinental collaboration networks, thematic evolution, research gaps and future directions, while Bradford’s Law of Scattering was used to identify core dissemination channels. Publications have shown a steady upward trajectory since 2000, with an overall relative growth rate of 0.3%, while annual citations peaked in 2009 and 2011 (3337 and 3460 citations, respectively). The dataset strictly conformed to Bradford’s distribution (0.16% error), identifying PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases (11.9%) and Parasites and Vectors (5.6%) as the core journals. Global research networks are predominantly led by Australia and the United States, supported primarily by the National Institutes of Health (14.8%) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (14.2%). Crucially, thematic analysis using a methodological triangulation approach demonstrates a progressive maturation in the field, shifting from foundational laboratory mechanisms toward large-scale deployment logistics and microbiome dynamics. Overall, this study highlights the intellectual landscape, underscores the vital role of global collaboration, and provides strategic insights to guide future evidence-based policies in Wolbachia–Aedes aegypti research.

BACKGROUND Malaysia is recognized as a leading contributor to global malaria research, especially after the identification of Plasmodium knowlesi as a significant zoonotic agent of human malaria. OBJECTIVE Comprehensive bibliometric analyses assessing research volume, collaborative networks, and thematic evolution in Malaysian malaria research remain limited. METHODS This scientometric study examined malaria-related publications from Malaysia indexed in Scopus between 1956 and 2024. A total of 674 records were analyzed using descriptive statistics, collaboration metrics, citation analysis, and bibliometric laws, including Lotka's, Bradford's, and Zipf's. VOSviewer was utilized to generate visual networks of authors, institutions, countries, keywords, and their interrelationships. RESULTS Research output was limited until the late 2000s, then grew at an average annual rate of 11.88%, peaking in 2022. Collaboration was strong (coefficient 0.66), with Malaysia serving as a central hub connecting Australia, United Kingdom, United States, and other Asian countries. Author productivity was skewed, deviating from Lotka’s Law, while a core set of journals, led by Malaria Journal, dominated publication in line with Bradford’s Law. Keyword analysis, following Zipf’s Law, highlighted clinical management, P. knowlesi diagnostics, and epidemiology as key research themes. CONCLUSIONS The rapid expansion of Malaysian malaria research is marked by a strong thematic focus and robust international collaboration, particularly in zoonotic malaria. To support malaria elimination objectives and strengthen the broader One Health and biomedical research ecosystem, increased institutional participation is recommended to ensure the sustainability of future interdisciplinary research.

Introduction: The ongoing assessment of smoking rates and their related factors is a crucial component of anti-smoking initiatives and is essential for evaluating the success of anti-smoking strategies and policies. This research aimed to ascertain the prevalence of smoking and to identify the...

Introduction: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure remains a significant global public health issue. Identifying the factors contributing to SHS exposure is crucial for developing targeted, evidence-based interventions to mitigate its impact. This study examines the patterns and determinants of SHS...

Introduction: The emergence of novel tobacco products has led to an increase in the consumption of diverse tobacco items among adolescents. The smoking habits of adolescents adversely affect their physical and emotional health. This study aimed to ascertain the prevalence of polytobacco use...

Background: Aedes aegypti is an important vector that transmits dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses. Although research on Aedes aegypti has been conducted for decades, scientometric studies on Aedes aegypti are scarce, are limited to regions, and cover short periods. Thus, there is still a knowledge gap in the current trend, research focuses and directions, leading authors and collaboration, journal and citation impacts, countries, and worldwide collaborations. Objective: The objectives of the study are to investigate the research trend, focus and directions, citation impact, leading authors and collaboration, journals, and countries of the published works on Aedes aegypti to inform the current knowledge gaps and future direction of the control of the vector. Methods: In this study, we searched the Scopus database for articles on Aedes aegypti published from the year 1927 until April 5th, 2024, and included articles, reviews, books, and book chapters that were written in English. A total of 16,247 articles in 160 journals with 481,479 citations were included. Inconsistencies in authors’ names were checked and cleaned using OpenRefine. The data were grouped into 4 periods; years 1927-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2023. The relative growth rate and doubling time of publications were calculated. The analysis was conducted using VOSviewer, R bibliometrics, and citeSpace. Results: The overall RGR was 0.1. Doubling time increased from 9.3 in 1978-1998 to 12.1 in 2000-2009. The main research clusters were “using Wolbachia,” “Dengue Zika,” “worldwide diversity,” “community support,” “larvicidal activity,” “mosquito genotype-dependent,” and “sterile insect technique.” Journal of Medical Entomology was the leading journal (758/16,247, 4.7%). The most cited articles were authored by Halstead SB and team in Science (N=1355) and Kraemer MU and team in eLife (N=1324). The United States (5806/23,538, 24.7%) and Brazil (2035/23,538, 8.6%) were the top countries. Gubler DJ was the top co-cited author (n=2892) from 2000 to 2019. The co-cited author cluster patterns informed the significant specialty research on Aedes aegypti across time. Authors from various specialized research fields tended to collaborate across countries, especially neighboring countries. Countries with more research funding on the study of Aedes aegypti published more papers. Conclusions: Researchers or entomologists could understand the current knowledge gap on Aedes aegypti and plan for future research pathways. This study contributed to the public health stakeholders in improving the vector control interventions and elucidated the extent of research subject areas.

Introduction: Numerous studies have shown that secondhand smoke (SHS) is harmful to human health. Thus, the purpose of this study was to look into the relationship between exposure to SHS and depression among secondary-school students in Malaysia. Methods: We derived the data from the...

BACKGROUND Aedes aegypti is an important vector that transmits dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses. Although research on Aedes aegypti has been conducted for decades, scientometric studies on Aedes aegypti are scarce, are limited to regions, and cover short periods. Thus, there is still a knowledge gap in the current trend, research focuses and directions, leading authors and collaboration, journal and citation impacts, countries, and worldwide collaborations. OBJECTIVE The objectives of the study are to investigate the research trend, focus and directions, citation impact, leading authors and collaboration, journals, and countries of the published works on Aedes aegypti to inform the current knowledge gaps and future direction of the control of the vector. METHODS In this study, we searched the Scopus database for articles on Aedes aegypti published from the year 1927 until April 5th, 2024, and included articles, reviews, books, and book chapters that were written in English. A total of 16,247 articles in 160 journals with 481,479 citations were included. Inconsistencies in authors’ names were checked and cleaned using OpenRefine. The data were grouped into 4 periods; years 1927-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2023. The relative growth rate and doubling time of publications were calculated. The analysis was conducted using VOSviewer, R bibliometrics, and citeSpace. RESULTS The overall RGR was 0.1. Doubling time increased from 9.3 in 1978-1998 to 12.1 in 2000-2009. The main research clusters were “using Wolbachia,” “Dengue Zika,” “worldwide diversity,” “community support,” “larvicidal activity,” “mosquito genotype-dependent,” and “sterile insect technique.” Journal of Medical Entomology was the leading journal (758/16,247, 4.7%). The most cited articles were authored by Halstead SB and team in Science (N=1355) and Kraemer MU and team in eLife (N=1324). The United States (5806/23,538, 24.7%) and Brazil (2035/23,538, 8.6%) were the top countries. Gubler DJ was the top co-cited author (n=2892) from 2000 to 2019. The co-cited author cluster patterns informed the significant specialty research on Aedes aegypti across time. Authors from various specialized research fields tended to collaborate across countries, especially neighboring countries. Countries with more research funding on the study of Aedes aegypti published more papers. CONCLUSIONS Researchers or entomologists could understand the current knowledge gap on Aedes aegypti and plan for future research pathways. This study contributed to the public health stakeholders in improving the vector control interventions and elucidated the extent of research subject areas. CLINICALTRIAL