Subject field of active/delayed aging research: Results of scientometric analysis and mapping

Abstract

In recent years, the global trend of population aging and its inherent features have changed the research agenda for studying older age groups. The paper is devoted to the definition of the main subject areas that are in the focus of active and delayed aging research in Russia and abroad. For the scientometric analysis, the databases Scopus and eLibrary (RSCI) were used. The study used the method of scientometric mapping using the VOSviewer program. The following terms were chosen as search terms: active aging / longevity, delayed aging, healthsaving behavior, late maturity, employment of the elderly. The analysis showed an increase in the popularity of the topic of employment in recent years, including gender-differentiating aspects. The topic of activity is more often presented in the context of “active longevity (aging)”, although at the content level the global aging process and its dynamics differ markedly from the situation of the social group of the elderly in different countries. In the topic “Activity of the elderly”, the presence of medical topics is more clearly expressed. Thematic clustering of keywords and phrases showed the multifactor nature of the studied phenomena and the need for their multidisciplinary study. It was found that articles in the social sciences are devoted to issues of social communication, adaptation, inclusion, as well as medical data and assessments of various parameters of the health of the elderly, as well as economic parameters, comparison of statistical indicators of aging, psychological and political aspects of aging.