Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences
Abstract
Background/aim: Methylphenidate is widely used for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, concerns regarding its cardiac and cardiovascular safety remain clinically relevant. This study aimed to delineate the scientific landscape of methylphenidate-related cardiac and cardiovascular safety using bibliometric methods.
Materials and methods: The Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Emerging Sources Citation Index were used to search the Web of Science Core Collection. A proximity-based search that combined terms related to methylphenidate, cardiovascular health, and safety/adverse events retrieved 263 records. There were 244 publications in the dataset after only including articles and reviews. VOSviewer was used to analyze author coauthorship, country coauthorship, keyword cooccurrence, and source citation networks.
Results: After author name disambiguation, author coauthorship analysis identified 34 authors in five clusters, with Coghill, Banaschewski, Buitelaar, Wong, McCarthy, and Sonuga-Barke showing the strongest collaborative links. The analysis of countries found 24 countries or regions in five clusters. The USA was the most productive country, and England had the strongest overall link strength. Keyword analysis found 33 standardized keywords in eight clusters. The most common words were “attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder,” “methylphenidate,” “stimulants,” “atomoxetine,” and “amphetamines.” Source citation analysis showed that CNS Drugs received the highest number of citations, whereas the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology was the most productive source. Neurology showed a notable citation impact despite contributing only two documents.
Conclusion: The literature is structured around ADHD pharmacotherapy, cardiovascular surveillance, severe cardiac outcomes, drug safety, and pharmacoepidemiology. There is a need for more international cooperation and long-term studies that compare safety.
DOI
10.55730/1300-0144.6403
Keywords
bibliometrics, cardiovascular safety, Methylphenidate
First Page
1574
Last Page
1587
Publisher
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
YILMAZ, Ö. Ç, & AÇIKEL, S. B (2026). Methylphenidate-related cardiac and cardiovascular safety: a bibliometric and network analysis . Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences 56 (5): 1574-1587. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0144.6403
