Abstract / Summary
Background: Dhat syndrome is a culturally shaped disorder characterised by distress related to perceived semen loss and associated psychological, somatic and sexual symptoms. Despite the increase in research over the last five decades, the development, geographical distribution, collaboration models and thematic development of the field have not been properly characterised. Aim: To study the publication patterns, contribution of institutes and countries, types of publications, influential authors, collaborations and co-occurrence of keywords in the research on Dhat syndrome. Methods: Bibliometric analysis was performed using Scopus. Search strategy: We identified publications with the following search strategy: TITLE-ABS-KEY (‘Dhat syndrome’) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (‘semen loss syndrome’) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (‘semen loss anxiety’). We included English-language publications that were indexed in Scopus and were mainly about Dhat syndrome. Exported records in CSV format on 19 October 2025. Descriptive bibliometric analyses and science mapping were used to analyse publication trends, institutional and country contributions, co-authorship, bibliographic coupling and keyword co-occurrence. Results: 140 publications from 1975 to 2025, involving 287 authors and 161 institutions across 21 countries, were analysed. After 2010, the number of publications has grown significantly, reaching 25 in 2024. India was the most productive country, with 106 publications and 1,232 citations, followed by the United Kingdom (17 publications) and the United States (8 publications). The most common type of article was original research articles ( n = 71), followed by letters to the editor ( n = 25), book chapters ( n = 22) and reviews ( n = 17). Co-authorship analysis revealed 67 clusters and 667 links. Keyword analysis found 248 keywords in 16 clusters, with ‘Dhat syndrome’ as the main cluster, associated with culture-bound syndrome, semen loss, sexual dysfunction, anxiety, mental health and help-seeking. Conclusion: Research on Dhat syndrome has progressed significantly, with India being the main research hub. Recent scholarship suggests more integration of psychiatric, psychological, sexual health and sociocultural perspectives. Future research should target culturally validated diagnostic methods, community-based studies, longitudinal studies, and rigorous evaluation of culturally adapted interventions.