Search

Background Real-time surveillance of search behavior on the internet has achieved accessibility in measuring disease activity. In this study, we systematically assessed the associations between internet search trends of gastrointestinal (GI) symptom terms and daily newly confirmed COVID-19 cases at both global and regional levels. Methods Relative search volumes (RSVs) of GI symptom terms were derived from internet search engines. Time-series analyses with autoregressive integrated moving average models were conducted to fit and forecast the RSV trends of each GI symptom term before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Generalized additive models were used to quantify the effects of RSVs of GI symptom terms on the incidence of COVID-19. In addition, dose-response analyses were applied to estimate the shape of the associations. Results The RSVs of GI symptom terms could be characterized by seasonal variation and a high correlation with symptoms of “fever” and “cough” at both global and regional levels; in particular, “diarrhea” and “loss of taste” were abnormally increased during the outbreak period of COVID-19, with elevated point changes of 1.31 and 8 times, respectively. In addition, these symptom terms could effectively predict a COVID-19 outbreak in advance, underlying the lag correlation at 12 and 5 days, respectively, and with mutual independence. The dose-response curves showed a consistent increase in daily COVID-19 risk with increasing search volumes of “diarrhea” and “loss of taste”. Conclusion This is the first and largest epidemiologic study that comprehensively revealed the advanced prediction of COVID-19 outbreaks at both global and regional levels via GI symptom indicators.

This study has investigated the association between the amount of atmospheric aerosols and the occurrences of Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Lung Cancer in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) data of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and Google Trends (GT) have been used to acquire information regarding the abundance of atmospheric aerosols and the occurrences of the respiratory diseases respectively. The result of Granger causality test between AOT and GT has shown that Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai were quite vulnerable to the three respiratory diseases whereas Bengaluru did not display so much vulnerability to these ailments. Kolkata was not so much vulnerable to Asthma but did exhibit susceptibility to the other two diseases. GT is validated by correlating with Annual Morbidity data of Delhi. The result of Granger causality test between Particulate Matter (diameter ≤ 10 μm) (PM10) data and GT validates the result of Granger causality between AOT and GT, and shows the trustworthiness of GT and AOT. Thus, this study also proves the usefulness of VIIRS AOT and GT as dependable sources of information on atmospheric aerosols and prevalence of the respiratory diseases respectively, and the effectiveness of Granger causality test as a tool of analysis in health and geographic information systems (GIS).

Objective To evaluate the impact of the “Movember” awareness campaign (men’s health campaign that takes place every November) on internet search trends for information online about prostate cancer and to compare the results with those for “Pinktober” (the breast cancer awareness campaign that takes place in October) in the Spanish language as an indirect measure of its effectiveness. Methods Google Trends was used to evaluate the monthly relative search volumes (RSV) of the terms “cáncer de próstata” (prostate cancer), “cáncer de mama” (breast cancer), and “Movember” from January 2009 to December 2019 both in Spain and worldwide (in the Spanish language). Breast cancer was used as a comparator of the campaign impact. Mean increase in RSV on-campaign and off-campaign was calculated and compared using the Mann-Whitney U test and Joinpoint regression analysis to assess loss or gain of interest. Results The term “cáncer de próstata” showed a statistically significant increase during the campaign months both in Spain (17.4%; P < 0.001) and worldwide (35.4%; P < 0.001). Both “cáncer de próstata” and Movember showed a decreasing trend worldwide and in Spain, while “cáncer de mama” showed an increasing trend. Conclusion The Movember campaign generates a statistically significant increase in the search trends on “cancer de próstata” (prostate cancer) during the month of November (both in Spain and worldwide); when compared with the breast cancer campaign “Pinktober” these increases are of a lesser magnitude but still significant, suggesting that the campaign is effective beyond the English language, although the interest has been decreasing throughout the years.

Copyright is under contest in Australia amid growing digital cultures of sharing. Using metaphor as a frame for analysis, this study applies internet search data (Google Trends) methods to visualise Australian online information-seeking patterns for metaphors related to copyright and sharing. An overview of legal metaphors of online copyright (‘piracy’, ‘war on copyright’) and metaphors of digital sharing (‘sharing is caring’, ‘sharing economy’) leads to a critical examination of the ‘metaphor struggles’ between the rhetoric of copyright infringement and sharing cultures promoted by social media. Key findings presented are of decreased information seeking for copyright metaphors and increased information seeking for sharing metaphors. Online information-seeking patterns, as visualised by internet search data, represent a form of public mobilisation. Visualisation of these patterns of public information seeking for metaphors of copyright and sharing demonstrates shifting conceptions of copyright in contemporary digital cultures. This article concludes by raising a potential relationship between rising ethics of online sharing norms and diminishing legitimacy of online copyright, as the legal metaphor of copyright appears to transition through the metaphor cycle.

In this article has been explored the attitude of Internet users toward the Islamic financial system using data from Google Trends and WorldData.AI. An attitudes towards Islamic finance, Islamic economics and Islamic banking have been compared using from Google Trends survey statistics. Also, in the WorldData. AI. source has been analyzed that the news texts on Islamic finance for the last 12 months and found that the public attitude towards Islamic finance was positive.

The literature acknowledges “Uncertainty of Outcome” (UO) as a major factor to explain the degree of interest that sporting competitions draw from fans and the general public. Uncertainty about the championship winner is crucial insofar as financial success depends on the capacity to attract potential consumers of spectacle. This paper focusses on one aspect of UO and examines to what extent reduction in the interest of followers is due to the removal of uncertainty about the world drivers’ champion in Formula One. To study how certainty on the winner undermines the degree of attention generated by the Formula One world drivers’ championship, we rely on two alternative indexes—similar although not identical—reported by Google Trends. Both of these appraisals are computed from data on users’ search intensity in Google, where weekly records are normalised on the relative amount of searches per calendar year. Thus, as dependent variables for the empirical analysis we use two measures: Google Trends News (GTN), to capture the intensity with which individuals search news articles associated; and Google Trends Web (GTW), to get a wider overview based on all kind of Internet contents. The former empirical analysis is carried out on 10 years of available data, while the latter approach estimates the models for a larger period of 14 years. Our empirical strategy includes additionally adopting indicator saturation techniques to address this issue while controlling for outliers.

Objective: We aimed to determine the interest and changing trends over time in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer and its awareness campaign by examining the Google Trends application as an indicator of people’s interest globally. Methods: Using the Google Trends application, we determined the yearly and country-based relative search volumes of the term “bladder tumor” and of the methods used in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer in the period from January 2004 to December 2019. We compared the median relative search volumes found in the period 2004-2011 (Period 1) with those found in the period 2012-2019 (Period 2). Results: We found that the median relative search volume for bladder cancer decreased in period 2 and this was parallel to the decrease in the incidence rates in North America and Australia (p0.05). We found that the median relative search volumes of diagnostic cystoscopy and cytology were higher than those of molecular markers and imaging methods in line with guidelines (p

This paper aims to develop a theory of statistical observation in terms of scientific and methodological approaches to processing big data and to determine the possibilities of integrating information resources of various types to measure complex latent categories (using the example of social comfort) and to apply this experience in practice through the use of the financial situation indicators in forecasting. The authors have built a social comfort model in which the choice of weights for its components is based on a modified principal component analysis. The assessment is based on Google Trends data and official statistics. Google Trends data analysis methods are based on the development of an integrated approach to the semantic search for information about the components of social comfort, which reduces the share of author’s subjectivity; methodology of primary processing, considering the principles of comparability, homogeneity, consistency, relevance, description of functions and models necessary for the selection and adjustment of search queries. The proposed algorithm for working with big data allowed to determine the components of social comfort (“Education and Training”, “Safety”, “Leisure and free time”), for which it is necessary to directly integrate big data in the system of primary statistical accounting with further data processing and obtaining composite indicators. The authors conclude that a stable significant correlation has been found for the “Financial Situation” component, which makes it possible to use it for further calculations and extrapolation of financial indicators. The scientific novelty lies in the development of principles and directions for the integration of two alternative data sources when assessing complex latent categories. The findings and the results of the integral assessment of social comfort can be used by state statistics authorities to form a new type of continuous statistical observation based on the use of big data, as well as by executive authorities at the federal, regional and municipal levels in terms of determining the priorities of socio-economic policy development.

Catastrophic earthquakes stimulate information-seeking behaviors beyond the affected geographical boundaries; however, our understanding of the dynamics of global public interest in earthquakes remains limited. Herein, we harness Big Data to examine the dynamic patterns of global public interest, concerning 17 significant worldwide earthquakes over 2004–2019. We find that the global community shows a higher level of interest when an earthquake occurs in developed countries than in developing countries; however, they lose their interest in the former more rapidly than the latter. Regardless of the affected nation, there is a one- to two-week “golden” time window when attention can be leveraged for fundraising and humanitarian aid. Our findings suggest that European citizens who are highly interested in earthquakes emerge as a potential key community to achieve great inclusiveness in policy interventions to solicit international aid. The findings of this study hint at how Big Data can be utilized to identify “time windows of opportunities” for international humanitarian organizations to efficiently raise donations, charities, and aid resources around the world.

This paper examines the suitability of Google Trends data for the modeling and forecasting of interregional migration in Russia. Monthly migration data, search volume data, and macro variables are used with a set of univariate and multivariate models to study the migration data of the two Russian cities with the largest migration inflows: Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The empirical analysis does not provide evidence that the more people search online, the more likely they are to relocate to other regions. However, the inclusion of Google Trends data in a model improves the forecasting of the migration flows, because the forecasting errors are lower for models with internet search data than for models without them. These results also hold after a set of robustness checks that consider multivariate models able to deal with potential parameter instability and with a large number of regressors.

Objectives At the end of 2019, an acute infectious pneumonia (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began in Wuhan, China, and subsequently spread around the world starting a pandemic. Globally, to date, there have been >118 million confirmed cases, including >2 million deaths. In this context, it has been shown that the psychological impact of the pandemic is important and that it can be associated with an increase in internet searches related to fear, anxiety, depression, as well as protective behaviours, health knowledge and even maladaptive behaviours. Study design This is a systematic review. Methods This review aims to collect, analyse and synthesise available evidence on novel data streams for surveillance purposes and/or their potential for capturing the public reaction to epidemic outbreaks, particularly focusing on mental health effects and emotions. Results At the end of the screening process, 19 articles were included in this systematic review. Our results show that the COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on internet searches for mental health of entire populations, which manifests itself in a significant increase of depressed, anxious and stressed internet users’ emotions. Conclusions Novel data streams can support public health experts and policymakers in establishing priorities and setting up long-term strategies to mitigate symptoms and tackle mental health disorders., Graphical abstract Image 1

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to use Google Trends for evaluating the association between the internet searches of the term “conjunctivitis” and the daily new cases of COVID-19. Methods: The relative search volume (RSV) of conjunctivitis from January 1 to April 16, 2019 (control group), January 1 to April 16, 2020 (first wave), and October 1 to December 31, 2020 (second wave) was obtained using Google Trends in Italy, France, United Kingdom, and United States. The number of COVID-19 daily new cases in the same countries were retrieved from Worldometer. Lag time correlation analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between RSV and daily new cases (Pearson’s correlation coefficient). Results: During the first wave, the lagged RSV of conjunctivitis was significantly correlated with the number of COVID-19 daily new cases in all investigated countries. The highest correlation coefficients were obtained with a lag of 16 days in Italy ( R = 0.868), 18 days in France ( R = 0.491), 15 days in United Kingdom ( R = 0.883), and 14 days in United States ( R = 0.484) (all p Conclusion: Google Trends searches on conjunctivitis were significantly correlated with COVID-19 daily new cases during the first wave in Italy, France, United Kingdom, and United States, with a lag of 14–18 days. Repeating the analysis for the second wave, however, no significant correlations were found in any of the investigated countries.

There is an information gap about the public's interest in nephrological diseases in the COVID-19 era. The objective was to identify public interest in kidney diseases during the pandemic. In this infodemiology study, Google Trends was queried for a total of 50 search queries corresponding to a broad spectrum of nephrological diseases and the term "nephrologist." Two time intervals of 2020 (March 15-July 4 and July 5-October 31) were compared to similar time intervals of 2016-2019 for providing information on interest in different phases of the pandemic. Compared to the prior 4 years, analyses showed significant decreases in relative search volume (RSV) in the majority (76%) of search queries on March 15-July 4, 2020 period. However, RSV of the majority of search queries (≈70%) on July 5-October 31, 2020 period was not significantly different from similar periods of the previous 4 years, with an increase in search terms of amyloidosis, kidney biopsy, hematuria, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, nephrolithiasis, acute kidney injury, and Fabry disease. During the early pandemic, there have been significant decreases in search volumes for many nephrological diseases. However, this trend reversed in the period from July 5 to October 31, 2020, implying the increased need for information on kidney diseases. The results of this study enable us to understand how COVID-19 impacted the interest in kidney diseases and demands/needs for kidney diseases by the general public during the pandemic.

Whether coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has an impact on bruxism represents an important gap of knowledge. This study evaluated the trends in Google searches, as an indication of public interest and demand, for bruxism and its symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.Google Trends was queried for bruxism, teeth grinding, and teeth clenching both worldwide and in the United States. Two periods in 2020 (March 15-May 9 and May 10-October 17) were compared to similar periods of 2016-2019 to investigate both initial and short-term interest.The relative search volume of bruxism, teeth grinding, and teeth clenching was not significantly different between 2020 and 2016-2019 worldwide or in the United States in the March 15-May 9 period. Only the search for teeth grinding showed an increase worldwide. In the May 10-October 17 period, the relative search volume of bruxism, teeth grinding, and teeth clenching all was significantly higher in 2020 compared to 2016-2019 both worldwide and in the United States.The study showed that the relative search volume for bruxism, teeth grinding, and teeth clenching, as an indication of public interest and demand, was increased both worldwide and in the United States during the May-October 2020 period compared to similar periods of the previous 4 years. Dentists should address this increased public interest and demand for information seeking for bruxism. Follow-up studies monitoring long-term interest as a real-time surveillance and evaluating whether increased internet searches are linked to an actual increase or worsening of bruxism and its symptoms in the clinic are required.ZIEL: Ob die COVID(„coronavirus disease 2019“)-Pandemie einen Einfluss auf Bruxismus hat, stellt eine wesentliche Forschungslücke dar. In dieser Studie wurden die Trends in den Google-Suchanfragen, als Anhaltspunkt für öffentliches Interesse und die entsprechende Nachfrage, für Bruxismus und seine Symptome während der COVID-19-Pandemie ausgewertet.Google Trends wurde für Bruxismus, Zähneknirschen und Zähnepressen sowohl weltweit als auch in den USA abgefragt. Zwei Zeiträume im Jahr 2020 (15.03.–09.05. und 10.05.–17.10.) wurden mit ähnlichen Zeiträumen der Jahre 2016–2019 verglichen, um sowohl das initiale als auch das kurzfristige Interesse zu untersuchen.Das relative Aufkommen der Suchanfragen zu Bruxismus, Zähneknirschen und Zähnepressen unterschied sich im Zeitraum vom 15.03.–09.05. weder weltweit noch in den USA statistisch signifikant zwischen 2020 und 2016-2019. Nur die Suche nach Zähneknirschen zeigte weltweit einen Anstieg. Im Untersuchungszeitraum 10.05.–17.10. war das relative Suchvolumen bezüglich Bruxismus, Zähneknirschen und Zähnepressen im Jahr 2020 im Vergleich zu 2016–2019 sowohl weltweit als auch in den USA signifikant höher.Die Studie zeigte, dass das relative Suchvolumen für Bruxismus, Zähneknirschen und Zähnepressen als Hinweis auf öffentliches Interesse und Nachfrage sowohl weltweit als auch in den Vereinigten Staaten während des Zeitraums von Mai bis Oktober 2020 im Vergleich zu ähnlichen Zeiträumen der vorangegangenen 4 Jahre erhöht war. Zahnärzte sollten dieses erhöhte öffentliche Interesse und die Nachfrage nach Informationen über Bruxismus ansprechen. Folgestudien, die das langfristige Interesse im Sinne einer Echtzeitüberwachung beobachten und auswerten, ob die erhöhte Internetsuche mit einer tatsächlichen Zunahme oder einer Verstärkung von Bruxismus und seinen Symptomen in der Klinik verbunden ist, sind erforderlich.

Background: Regardless of countries, the myth that rain makes the body ache has been worded in various forms, and a number of studies have been reported to investigate this. However, these studies, which depended on the patient’s experience or memory, had obvious limitations. Google Trends is a big data analysis service based on search terms and viewing videos provided by Google LLC, and attempts to use it in various fields are continuing. In this study, we endeavored to introduce the ‘value as a research tool’ of the Google Trends, that has emerged along with technological advancements, through research on ‘whether toothaches really occur frequently on rainy days’. Methods: Keywords were selected as objectively as possible by applying web crawling and text mining techniques, and the keyword “bi” meaning rain in Korean was added to verify the reliability of Google Trends data. The correlation was statistically analyzed using precipitation and temperature data provided by the Korea Meteorological Agency and daily search volume data provided by Google Trends. Results: Keywords “chi-gwa”, “chi-tong”, and “chung-chi” were selected, which in Korean mean ‘dental clinic’, ‘toothache’, and ‘tooth decay’ respectively. A significant correlation was found between the amount of precipitation and the search volume of tooth decay. No correlation was found between precipitation and other keywords or other combinations. It was natural that a very significant correlation was found between the amount of precipitation, temperature, and the search volume of “bi”. Conclusion: Rain seems to actually be a cause of toothache, and if objective keyword selection is premised, Google Trends is considered to be very useful as a research tool in the future.

While restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have strongly limited and affected the work of scientists and communicators, the pandemic has also encouraged the development of new ways of networking and public engagement. People have had to resort to virtual events, with a subsequent proliferation of webinars, online meetings, and digital resources. In this situation we have had to find new ways of measuring the impact of these activities. Using the activities of the Italian Lichen Society (Società Lichenologica Italiana, SLI), Google Trends and colleagues’ contributions, we evaluated the performances and impacts of virtual tools on lichenological literacy. We compared the relative success of virtual and in-person events and the effort required; we evaluated followers’ appreciation of various categories of posts on SLI Facebook page; and designed a questionnaire to collate information on individual experiences of in-person and virtual events linked to lichens. As expected, online events generally required less effort to put together and deploy than in-person events and engaged more people, especially when recorded and made available online for a long time. Using online searches for the word “lichens” we found an association with national events, and there was a notable increase in membership of SLI over the last 10 years, demonstrating an increasing interest by people in lichens. Without excluding the positive effects of in-person experiences, we believe that online events offer a powerful tool to help increase interest in, and knowledge about lichens. This interest may help to mitigate the impact of anthropogenic activities on this sensitive component of the ecosystem and help human-lichen relationships. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13199-021-00780-6.

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced many calls for a vaccine. There is growing concern that vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination presence will dampen the uptake of a coronavirus vaccine. There are many cited reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Mercury content, autism association, and vaccine danger have been commonly found in anti-vaccination messages. It is also mused that the reduced disease burden from infectious diseases has paradoxically reduced the perceived requirement for vaccine uptake. Our analysis using Google Trends has shown that throughout the pandemic the search interest in a coronavirus vaccine has increased and remained high throughout. Peaks are found when public declarations are made, the case number increases significantly, or when vaccine breakthroughs are announced. Anti-vaccine searches, in the context of COVID-19, have had a continued and growing presence during the pandemic. Contrary to what some may believe, the burden of coronavirus has not been enough to dissuade anti-vaccine searches entirely.

Purpose Temporal trends of disease-specific internet searches may provide novel insights into seasonal dynamics of disease burden and, by extension, disease pathophysiology. The aim of this study was to define the temporal trends in rhinosinusitis-specific internet searches. Methods This was a cross sectional analysis of search volume for predefined search terms. Google trends was used to explore the volume of searches for five specific search terms related to rhinosinusitis: nose, mucus, sinus, sinusitis, chronic sinusitis, which were entered into Google web search between 2004 and 2019. Results were analyzed within search “context” which included temporally associated related searches. Relative search volume (RSV) was analyzed for English and non-English speaking countries from the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Analysis of seasonality was performed using the cosinor model. Results The five specific search terms were most related to rhinosinusitis-related search contexts, indicating that they were appropriately reflective of internet queries by patients for rhinosinusitis. The RSV for rhinosinusitis-related terms and more general search terms increased with each passing year indicating constant interest in rhinosinusitis. Cosinor time series analysis revealed inquiry peaks in winter months for all five specific rhinosinusitis-related search terms independent from the hemisphere. Conclusion Over a 15-year period, Google searches with rhinosinusitis-specific search terms consistently peaked during the winter around the world. These findings indirectly support the model of viral infection or exposure as the predominant cause of acute rhinosinusitis and acute exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis.

Aim of the work: To assess whether there is seasonality in the internet search volume related to gout and whether this reflects the seasonal variation of the actual number of gout cases in South Korea according to the nationwide insurance data. Patients and Methods: The number of gout cases was obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) in South Korea between January 2015 and December 2019. Internet search query data for the search terms “gout” and “uric acid” were obtained from a publicly available search engine database, Google Trends, during the same period. The cosinor analysis was conducted to assess a potential seasonality in the number of gout cases and gout-related search volumes (RSV) in Google Trends. Results: There was a significant seasonality in the number of gout cases and RSV for the search terms “gout” and “uric acid”. For both analyses, summer was the peak season, and winter was the trough season. The month with the most gout cases was July with February having the least number of cases. The RSV of the terms “gout” (r = 0.47; p

Background and aims: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), immediate self-quarantine is assumed as the best course of action for highly contagious diseases. Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many individuals have become overweight and are also suffering from physical problems. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on interest in home-based exercise. Methods: This digital epidemiological study used data sources outside the health system. This descriptive study with a comprehensive electronic systematic search in the Google Trends database using the keyword of “home-based exercise” retrieved the relevant data about the Internet search activity of Iranian community members. The data were accordingly obtained within two time intervals, i.e., from February 18, 2020 to October 18, 2020 and eight months prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 (June 18, 2019 to February 18, 2020). To analyze the data, the Wilcoxon test and the Spearman’s correlation coefficient were used. Results: The results showed significant increase in “home-based exercise” Google search in the eight-month time interval during COVID-19 compared with the same period before the pandemic (P < 0.001). Moreover, there was a significant correlation between “home-based exercise” Google search and positive COVID-19 cases in the time intervals of February 18, 2020 to April 18, 2020 (r = 0.756, P = 0.0001), April 18, 2020 to June 18, 2020 (r = -461, P = 0.0001), but not June 18, 2020 to August 18, 2020 (r = 0.044, P = 0.737), August 18, 2020 to October 18, 2020 (r = 0.246, P = 0.056), and over time (r = -0.083, P = 0.0195). Conclusion: The prevalence rate of the COVID-19 pandemic and social constraints including self-quarantine seem to have raised people’s interest in doing exercises, especially home-based exercises.

Background In response to the prioritization of healthcare resources towards the COVID-19 pandemic, routine cancer screening and diagnostic have been disrupted, potentially explaining the apparent COVID-era decline in cancer cases and mortality. In this study, we identified temporal trends in public interest in cancer-related health information using the nowcasting tool Google Trends. Methods We used Google Trends to query search terms related to cancer types for short-term (September 2019–September 2020) and long-term (September 2016–September 2020) trends in the US. We compared average relative search volumes (RSV) for specified time ranges to detect recent and seasonal variation. Results General search interest declined for all cancer types beginning in March 2020, with changes in search interest for “Breast cancer,” “Colorectal cancer,” and “Melanoma” of − 30.6%, − 28.2%, and − 26.7%, respectively, and compared with the mean RSV of the two previous months. In the same time range, search interest for “Telemedicine” has increased by + 907.1% and has reached a 4-year peak with a sustained increased level of search interest. Absolute cancer mortality has declined and is presently at a 4-year low; however, search interest in cancer has been recuperating since July 2020. Conclusion We observed a marked decline in searches for cancer-related health information that mirrors the reduction in new cancer diagnoses and cancer mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health professions need to be prepared for the coming demand for cancer-related healthcare, foreshadowed by recovering interest in cancer-related information on Google Trends. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10552-021-01409-1.

Recent Coronavirus pandemic has prompted many regulations which are affecting the stock market. Especially because of lockdown policies across the world, the airlines industry is suffering. We analyse the stock price movements of three major airlines companies using a new approach which leverages a measure of internet concern on different topics. In this approach, Twitter data and Google Trends are used to create a set of predictors which then leads to an appropriately modified GARCH model. In the analysis, first we show that the ongoing pandemic has an unprecedented severe effect. Then, the proposed model is used to analyse and forecast stock price volatility of the airlines companies. The findings establish that our approach can successfully use the effects of internet concern for different topics on the movement of stock price index and provide good forecasting accuracy. Model confidence set (MCS) procedure further shows that the short‐term volatility forecasts are more accurate for this method than other candidate models. Thus, it can be used to understand the stock market during a pandemic in a better way. Further, the proposed approach is attractive and flexible, and can be extended to other related problems as well.

Objective(s) Climate variables are implied in the pathogenesis of certain otologic diseases, including benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). Using internet search data obtained through Google Trends (GT), we explored the relationship between climate patterns and symptom search frequencies for BPPV. We hypothesized that increased latitude, as a proxy for decreased sunlight exposure, would lead to increase in BPPV symptom searches. Methods GT searches for symptoms related to BPPV were obtained for five U.S. cities of different latitudes via the Google Trends online interface. Comparisons were made using SPSS via ANOVA analysis. Figures were made using Microsoft Excel. Results Searches for BPPV‐related symptoms increased with increasing latitude. BPPV‐related symptoms did show seasonal variations, but not in predictable manners. Conclusion(s) GT may be a viable research tool when comparing geographical differences in searches, but may be less sensitive in detecting time dependent changes. We offer suggestions as to how big data tools may be altered for research purposes. Level of Evidence NA., Google Trends data may be used to track symptom and disease epidemiology. We demonstrated that Google Trends reflects previously suspected associations between environmental variables and Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.

Background Novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has impacted populations in many ways worldwide, including access to oral health services. This study aims to assess the association between lockdown due to COVID-19 and online searches for toothache in Iran using Google Trends (GT). Methods We investigated GT online searches for toothache within the past five years. The time frame for data gathering was considered as the initiation and end dates of the national lockdown in Iran. We performed one-way ANOVA statistical test to compare relative search volumes (RSVs) between the year 2020 and 2016–2019 for the whole country. Then we investigated the possible association of RSVs in provinces with dentists’ density, prevalence of current daily smokers, Human Development Index (HDI), Internet access, and fluoride concentration in water using linear regression. Results When comparing 2020 with the previous four years, there was a rise of 2020 RSVs versus all previous years combined and each year (P Conclusion The RSVs for toothache in 2020 have increased due to COVID-19-imposed lockdown compared with the same period in the past four years. This increase was related to socioeconomic factors.

Influenza-like illnesses (ILI) result in deaths and hospitalizations across the globe. Traditional surveillance systems rely on data from general medical practitioners. The process is resource-intensive and plagued with delay. Although recent studies have shown the potential utility of free and fast alternatives like web and social media data, the reliability cannot be generalized due to differences in technological culture. Meanwhile, there is a scarcity of studies exploring these free online data for (sub-Saharan) African countries. In this paper, we utilize Google trends (GT) data for ILI forecasting in South Africa. We study models based on deep learning (Long short-term memory (LSTM) and feedforward neural networks (FNN)), machine learning (Multiple linear regression (MLR), elastic net (EN), support vector machine (SVM)), and statistical time series (seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA)) algorithms. The FNN and SVM models using GT data alone, produce forecasts close in accuracy to those fitted to actual ILI data. The algorithms rank differently across various performance measures. Generally, the deep learning techniques perform better than the other algorithms in our study. However, tuning the former is quite intricate. Combining GT and historical ILI data enhances the models. The non-deep-learning algorithms benefit more from this enhancement. Furthermore, we observe that search volume increases proportional to and timeously with reported infection rates, suggesting that South Africans search Google in the week they feel flu symptoms. Thus, monitoring Google search trends is a reliable proxy for monitoring flu spread in South Africa.

There has been increased interest in media and the World Health Organization advisory regarding digital gaming. We did a Google Trend study using relative search volumes (RSVs) for the keywords identifying with different themes related to digital gaming. It was seen that there was a significant increase in RSVs in the Indian population for the keywords identifying with online gaming, reward-seeking, and genres or types of games. Although online gaming is an easy way to engage during the lockdown, the risks due to excessive engagement cannot be ignored. We recommend balanced and effective approaches for gaming during lockdown for physical and psychological well-being.

Objective: The aim of study is to examine the interest in orthodontics in the last 5 years using Google Trends data all over the world.Materials and Methods: On July 6, 2020, the Google Trends application was searched for the last five years. Search results were recorded separately for all keywords and separately for 26 countries with sufficient data. The mean of all search results is taken and a Google Trends Value (GTV) is obtained for the countries. These data are correlated with population, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and knowledge of English (English Proficiency Index – EPI) in countries. Pearson correlation test was used for correlation values between Population, GDP and EPI with Google Trend values. Results: According to the table, the highest GTV were observed in United States (65.33); lowest GTV were observed in France. According to the statistically analysis, a positive correlation was found between GTV with both population and GDP and EPI values. Finally, a positive correlation was found between GDP and EPI values and this positive correlation was statistically significant(p, Amaç: Çalışmanın amacı, tüm dünyada Google Trends arama verilerini kullanarak son 5 yılda ortodonti konusuna olan ilgiyi incelemektir.Materyal ve Metot: 6 Temmuz 2020’de, Google Trends uygulamasında son beş yıldaki arama verileri tarandı. Arama sonuçları, tüm anahtar kelimeler için ayrı ayrı ve yeterli veriye sahip 26 ülke için ayrı olarak kaydedildi. Tüm arama sonuçlarının ortalaması alındı ve ülkeler için bir Google Trends Değeri (GTV) elde edildi. Bu veriler nüfus, Gayri Safi Yurtiçi Hâsıla (GDP) ve ülkelerdeki İngilizce bilgisi (İngilizce Yeterlilik Endeksi – EPI) ile ilişkilidir. Nüfus, GDP ve EPI ile Google Trends değerleri arasındaki korelasyon değerleri için Pearson korelasyon testi kullanıldı.Bulgular: Tabloya göre, en yüksek GTV değeri ABD'de gözlenmiştir (65,33); Fransa'da en düşük GTV değeri görülmüştür. İstatistiksel analize göre, GTV ile hem nüfus hem de GDP ile EPI değerleri arasında pozitif bir korelasyon bulundu. Son olarak GDP ve EPI değerleri arasında pozitif korelasyon bulundu ve bu pozitif korelasyon istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmuştur (p

The methodological approach for assessing the formation of food demand in unforeseen situations using digital Internet-technologies and the assessment itself, is substantiated in the paper (in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020) Comparison and theoretical generalization, as well as statistical test-assessment of hypotheses and structural regularities based on the data of Google Trends Internet platform, is used to analyze consumer preferences and intensity of demand changes for meat, milk, sugar, bread, and flour during the pandemic and quarantine, both in developed and developing countries It is discovered that the biggest changes can be observed in the developed countries: consumer preferences shifted from rather expensive food products (milk and meat) to much cheaper ones (flour and bread) It is asserted that a decrease in consumer demand for basic food products will have a negative impact on the global economy In 2020, a considerable decrease in GDP is expected for the developed countries;in the developing countries, GDP decline will not be as large, but prices are expected to rise much more noticeably The following anti-crisis measures are proposed: support of the most vulnerable population and increase of food accessibility;temporary reduction of the VAT and other taxes influencing the price of food;reduction of central banks’ lending rates, etc With the correct measures applied, the stabilization of consumer demand for food and gradual growth of the global economy is expected by the end of 2021 © Iaroslav Gadzalo, Mykola Sychevskiy, Olha Kovalenko, Liudmyla Deineko, Lyudmila Yashchenko, 2020

Introduction and Aims To control the spread of COVID‐19, India imposed a nationwide lockdown in phases including lockdown 1.0 (25 March–14 April) and 2.0 (15 April–3 May). Among other restrictions, it involved a complete ban of alcohol sales. We aimed to examine and interpret the changes in online search interest for keywords representing different alcohol‐related themes during the lockdown period in India. Design and Methods Data were extracted using the framework described for using Google Trends in health‐related research. The list of alcohol‐related search queries was prepared for four broad themes: types of alcoholic beverages consumed; means of accessing alcohol; problems experienced due to break in alcohol supply; and help‐seeking for alcohol use disorders. The mean relative search volumes across three time periods (pre‐lockdown; lockdown 1.0; lockdown 2.0) were compared using spss version 23.0. Results A significant increase in online search interest for keywords related to the procurement of alcohol was observed in lockdown 1.0 but not during lockdown 2.0, compared with pre‐lockdown. A significant increase in online search interest for alcohol withdrawal was observed during lockdown 1.0 compared to the pre‐lockdown period. A significant increase in online search interest for keywords representing benzodiazepines was observed in lockdown 2.0. Discussion and Conclusions Indian internet users exhibited significantly increased online interest for alcohol‐related searches during lockdown. It seems that the challenges associated with offering interventions for alcohol use‐related problems are likely to continue once the lockdown is lifted and people have the option to access alcohol and treatment services freely.

Objective To assess whether web-based public inquiries into pharyngitis-related search terms follow annual incidence peaks of acute pharyngitis in various countries from both hemispheres. Methods Google Trends (GT) was utilized for systematic acquisition of pharyngitis-related search terms (sore throat, cough, fever, cold). Six countries from both hemispheres including four English (United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Australia) and two non-English speaking countries (Austria and Germany) were selected for further analysis. Time series data on relative search interest for pharyngitis-related search terms, covering a timeframe between 2004 and 2019 were extracted. Following reliability analysis using the intra-class correlation coefficient, the cosinor time series analysis was utilized to determine annual peaks in public-inquiries. Results The extracted datasets of GT proved to be highly reliable with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.83 to 1.0. Graphical visualization showed annual seasonal peaks for pharyngitis-related search terms in all included countries. The cosinor time series analysis revealed these peaks to be statistically significant during winter months (all p Conclusion Our study revealed seasonal variations for pharyngitis-related terms which corresponded to winter incidence peaks of acute pharyngitis. These results highlight the need for easily accessible information on diagnosis, therapy, and red-flag symptoms for this common disease. Accurately informed patients might contribute to a reduction of unnecessary clinic visits and potentially cutback the futile antibiotic overuse.

During the last decade, the use of online search traffic data is becoming popular in examining, analyzing, and predicting human behavior, with Google Trends being a popular tool in monitoring and analyzing the users' online search patterns in several research areas, like health, medicine, politics, economics, and finance. Towards the direction of exploring the Sterling Pound’s predictability, we employ Google Trends data from the last 5 years (March 1st, 2015 to February 29th, 2020) and perform predictability analysis on the Pound’s exchange rates to Euro and Dollar. The period selected includes the 2016 UK referendum as well as the actual Brexit day (January 31st, 2020), with the analysis aiming at analyzing the Pound’s relationships with Google query data on Pound-related keywords and topics. A quantile dependence method is employed, i.e., cross-quantilograms, to test for directional predictability from Google Trends data to the Pound’s exchange rates for lags from zero to 30 (in weeks). The results indicate that statistically significant quantile dependencies exist between Google query data and the Pound’s exchange rates, which point to the direction of one of the main implications in this field, that is to examine whether the movements in one economic variable can cause reactions in other economic variables.

Introduction Search engine optimisation (SEO) in plastic surgery practice is crucial for increasing web traffic. Knowing what patients are searching for online can help plastic surgeons understand public interest, enhance patient engagement, and improve service provision. This study analyses the correlation between Google Trends (GT) search activity and the number of cosmetic procedures carried out in the UK. Methods GT search term data were analysed for popularity of use and geographical variation in the UK. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to analyse GT data against the number of cosmetic surgery procedures undertaken in the UK in the corresponding year and with 1-year time lag. Results GT score was higher for most colloquial search terms, such as “tummy tuck” compared to “abdominoplasty” (GT score 59 vs 6), but “otoplasty” was higher than “ear correction” (GT score 55 vs 19). Geographical variation showed that London ranked first in proportional search term activity for “brow lift” and Birmingham for “tummy tuck”. There was statistically significant positive correlation for three search terms and the number of corresponding surgeries undertaken. This increased to nine search terms when analysed with a 1-year time lag. Conclusion These results highlight the trends in online search activity in the UK and their correlation with cosmetic procedures. The higher number of significant correlations with 1-year time lag may reflect the patient’s decision-making journey to undergo cosmetic surgery. These results can be utilised for SEO, thus leading to a better-informed public and more robust practice building. Level of Evidence V This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

Data on real-time marketing performance from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) selling their products in marketplace e-commerce corporations (MECCs) is a big challenge for researchers studying the performance of MECCs capital structure. This article explores the use of Google Trends to determine the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on MECCs’ performance. The findings of the trend analysis are explained using the N-OLI framework. It is found that there was a sharp trend decrease in MECCs with partial FDI (Tokopedia and Bukalapak) and full domestic investment (Blibli).On the other hand, there was a sharp increase in MECCs full FDI (Shopee). Other MECCs with full FDI, namely Lazada, has experienced a decrease but it is not as consistent as that of partial FDI. An increase trend in Shopee has negative correlation with a decline trend in Bukalapak. However, after being grouped, partial FDI has a significantly higher mean score compared to full FDI, and MECCs without FDI has the lowest mean score. This finding shows that in the case of Indonesia, FDI plays a role in encouraging the success of MSMEs, especially in MECCs, which have a combination of FDI and domestic investment.

Earthquake insurance can be a useful tool to build more sustainable societies and disaster-resilient communities. However, the coverage is not common in many countries. This article aims to contribute to the literature through an empirical analysis of the online interest in earthquake insurance through Google Trends. The proposed methodology implies to move from a top-down conceptual approach to a bottom-up/data-enabled one. It allows us to explore potential triggers and dynamic patterns of online interest in earthquake insurance at daily time-scale through the lens of Big Data. In order to validate the methodology, the article considers Italy as a test area. For this country, where the coverage rate is low, we fuse multiple databases to create 16-year daily time series of public search activities about the insurance in Italy and analyse it with other data sources. As a result, the peak analysis shows a connection with the occurrences of large domestic earthquakes, overseas earthquakes, and policy decisions, which create time windows of opportunities for insurers and policymakers to boost the public’s motivation towards the coverages. The research outcomes suggest that the data-enabled approach can additionally be applied in other countries where the coverage rate is low and stakeholders are facing the challenge to strive against earthquake under-insurance.

International audience; This review analyzes the state and recent progress in the field of information support for pollen allergy sufferers. For decades, information available for the patients and allergologists consisted of pollen counts, which are vital but insufficient. New technology paves the way to substantial increase in amount and diversity of the data. This paper reviews old and newly suggested methods to predict pollen and air pollutant concentrations in the air and proposes an allergy risk concept, which combines the pollen and pollution information and transforms it into a qualitative risk index. This new index is available in an app (Mobile Airways Sentinel NetworK-air) that was developed in the frame of the European Union grant Impact of Air POLLution on sleep, Asthma and Rhinitis (a project of European Institute of Innovation and Technology-Health). On-going transformation of the pollen allergy information support is based on new technological solutions for pollen and air quality monitoring and predictions. The new information-technology and artificial-intelligence-based solutions help to convert this information into easy-to-use services for both medical practitioners and allergy sufferers.

Introduction Every year in the USA over 14 million colonoscopies are performed. It requires high-quality examinations as well as a relevant information strategy. Colonoscopy compliance is not satisfactory, which to some extent might be related to patients’ attitudes towards colonoscopy, which are based on information and emotions. Aim In the current study we addressed the questions of what kind of information people seek and get when they search the Internet for “colonoscopy”. Material and methods Using the Google Trends web facility we analysed search results of “colonoscopy”, related searches, and annual and weekly search trends. Fields of interest analysis was performed based on the related searches. Results Patients are generally offered quality data on the first result page of a Google search biased only by Wikipedia scoring first on the result list. The number of “colonoscopy” searches is stable over the week with a significant decrease on weekends, and stable over the year with significant decrease around Thanksgiving day and in the Christmas/New Year’s Eve Period. The most common field of search is colonoscopy preparation, thus underlining the importance of this part of colonoscopy. Conclusions Internet search provides abundant information on colonoscopy. In general, this information is accessible, preferred by patients, and of good quality. This should be kept in mind by healthcare providers while educating patients about colonoscopy.

Purpose The purpose of this review is to quantify the landscape of current clinical trials ongoing for therapies in the treatment of COVID-19. A secondary purpose is to examine the relationship between public and scientific interests in potential therapies for COVID-19. Methods A systematic search of clinicaltrials.gov was undertaken on April 22, 2020, to identify all currently registered clinical trials investigating potential therapies for patients with COVID-19. Public interest in the various therapies was quantified utilizing Google Trends. Public interest in hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine was plotted against the cumulative number of active clinical trials evaluating antimalarials as potential COVID-19 therapies over time. Results There were 341 interventional studies and 208 different therapies actively registered on clinicaltrials.gov whose primary aim is the treatment of COVID-19. The median sample size was 120 patients (range 4–6000) with 154 (45%) trials reporting a planned sample size of 100 patients or less. There was a strong positive correlation (r = 0.76, p = 0.01) between the number of registered clinical trials and the public interest in the top ten proposed therapies. Following the spike in public interest, the average number of new trials increased tenfold with respect to antimalarial therapies. Conclusions The relatively small sample sizes and the number of independent trials investigating similar therapies are concerning. Resources may not be being allocated based on scientific merit and may be driven by public consciousness and speculation. Moving forward, a concerted effort focused on implementing large, well-coordinated and carefully designed multi-armed clinical trials will help to ensure that the most promising therapeutic options are rigorously studied and clinically meaningful results produced.

Purpose Epistaxis represents the most frequent ear, nose, throat-related emergency symptom. Seasonal variation in epistaxis incidence, with peaks during winter months, is widely accepted, although the literature itself remains inconclusive. The objective of this study was to evaluate public inquiry into nose bleeding, by considering Google-based search query frequency on “Epistaxis”-related search terms and to assess possible seasonal variations globally. Methods Epistaxis-related search terms were systematically collected and compared using Google Trends (GT). Relative search volumes for the most relevant epistaxis-related terms, covering a timeframe from 2004 to 2019 were analysed using cosinor time series analysis for the United States of America, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Results Graphical representation revealed seasonal variations with peaks during winter months in the majority of countries included. Subsequent cosinor analysis revealed these variations to be significant (all p Conclusion Public interest in seeking epistaxis-related information through the Internet displayed seasonal patterns in countries from both hemispheres, with the highest interest during winter months. Further studies exploring causality with environmental factors are warranted.

Background In addition to community pharmacies, the Internet has become an important source of information about medicines for patients, including medication recalls on the example of drugs containing valsartan. Aim The aim of the study was to verify a hypothesis that the frequency of specific Google searches in Polish increased during the periods of large scale valsartan recalls form the market which occurred between July 1st, 2018 and September 22nd 2019. Such increase would indicate that Google search engine is used by patients as a tool to seek information about withdrawn and recalled drugs. Material and methods Google Trends was used to obtain data on the relative frequency of searches of specific phrases connected to the topic. Four two-week periods, when valsartan formulations were being withdrawn from the Polish market, were identified and Poisson test was used to analyze the relative frequencies between those specified periods and the rest of the analysed timespan. All analyses were performed in R 3.5.3. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The results are reported with 95% CI. Results The relative frequency of searches including the phrase “walsartan wycofany” (eng. valsartran recalled) during the periods of the drug recalls was λ1 = 1,69 [1,56 - 1,83] while outside those periods it equalled λ2 = 0,52 [0,48 - 0,56]. For the second analysed phrase – “dyrektywa fałszywkowa” (ang. Falsified Medicine Directives) the values wereλ1 = 6,33 [6,07 - 6,58] and λ2 = 3,15 [3,06 - 3,25], respectively. In both cases the difference was statistically significant with p < 0,001. Conclusions During the periods of withdrawal and recall from the market of specific formulations containing valsartan and significant increase in the frequency of Google queries connected to the topic was registered. It may indicate that Google search engine, and more generally the Internet, is a significant source of information for Polish patients during periods in which medicinal products are being recalled. To fully appreciate the scope and the nature of the phenomenon, further quantitative and qualitative research is needed.

Timely economic statistics is crucial for effective decision making. However, most of them are released with a lag. Thus, "nowcasting" has become widely popular in economics, and web search volume histories are already used to make predictions in various fields including IT, communications, medicine, health, business and economics. This article seeks to explore the potential of incorporating internet search data, in particular Google Trends data, in autoregressive models used to predict the volume of Bitcoin trading. Toda and Yamamoto procedure was applied in order to examine causality between Google search data and Bitcoin trading volume on the online marketplace LocalBitcoins, for the area of the Republic of Croatia. The results showed that internet search data can be useful for forecasting Bitcoin trading volume, since Google searches for the term "bitcoin" Granger causes Bitcoin trading volume in the online marketplace LocalBitcoins.

We obtained data from Google Trends and Wikipedia in order to assess whether an analysis of Internet searches could provide information on the Internet users’ behaviour/interest in diets. Differences in seasonality, year and before/during COVID-19 pandemic were assessed. From Wikipedia, we extracted the number of times a page is viewed by users, aggregated on monthly and seasonal bases. We also used Google Trends to evaluate the frequency of the users’ web searches. The Mediterranean diet was the most frequently (33.9%), followed by the pescatarian diet (9.0%). Statistically, significant seasonal differences were found for the Mediterranean, vegetarian, Atkins, Scarsdale, and zone diets and pescetarianism. The most commonly searched diet and consequent diet-related queries on Google resulted to be: Dukan diet, Dukan and weight loss. Ketogenic, FODMAP and intermittent fasting diets were statistically more frequently searched during the pandemic compared with before. Our data show a different trend of searches based on the seasonality, year and the pandemic. These data could be useful for scientists, practitioners and policy makers because they can inform educational campaigns via the Internet, especially in periods when the population is more receptive.

Background The pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the healthcare system worldwide, leading to the suspension of elective surgeries and a decline in the utilization of minimally invasive surgeries (MIS). However, an objective parameter depicting the degree of decline of MIS is lacking. We aim to indirectly evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of MIS performed by the surgeons by evaluating the public interest in MIS using Google Trends. Methods A Google Trends search using the string ["laparoscopic" + "minimally invasive" + "robotic surgery"] was performed on June 2, 2021. The monthly relative search volume (RSV) indices were compared with the number of reported COVID-19 cases during the same period. Results RSV was highest between August 2018 and February 2020. RSV at the start of the pandemic was 95 but had declined to 51 during the first COVID-19 peak in April 2020 and 80 during the second peak in May 2021. Conclusion The monthly RSV related to MIS on Google Trends is a good tool to indirectly estimate the degree of decline in the number of MIS (both laparoscopic and robotic) performed worldwide during the pandemic.

Objectives: We aimed to analyze the trend change of the most popular Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitors (PDE5i) over time and geography by using Google Trends (GT) data in 10 years period and COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: GT is able to generate a “line-graph”, showing how interest has increased or decreased over a period within specific territories. The search values for specific terms are indexed as relative search volume (RSV), which is presented on a scale from 0-100. Avarage annual percentage change (AAPC) and RSV were analyzed to evaluate gain or loss of interest in trends. Search terms were generated for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved PDE5i; tadalafil, sildenafil, vardenafil, avanafil, and their most-used brand names. The data was within “worldwide” from 1 January 2010, to 31 December 2020, using the ‘‘global’’ query category. Results: The overall interest in PDE5i has doubled. Sildenafil has become the most trend PDE5i of today with a regular increase (AAPC: 0.016, p < 0.01). Although the search trend of tadalafil remained almost constant until 2014, the rate of increase in the last 6 years raised and tadalafil has become the 2nd most popular PDE5i recently (AAPC: 0.007, p < 0.01). For vardenafil there has been a decreased interest (AAPC: -0.009, p < 0.01). There is no significant change in avanafil trend (AAPC: 0.000, p: 0.5). All PDE5i interest on GT decreased notably from February to June 2020. But after June, search trends reached the level before the COVID-19 period in a month. Conclusions: These findings show us, with its increasing prevalence, erectile dysfunction (ED) has become a major public health problem. People from different geographies search the internet for ED treatment options. Patients should be informed that ED may be the first sign of many comorbid diseases, and patients with ED should be referred to a health institution for diagnosis and treatment.

На основе анализа данных о поисковой активности, собранных с помощью инструментов Google Trends и «Яндекс. Подбор слов», в статье анализируются предпочтения российских пользователей сервисов шеринга вещей. Выявлены особенности их поискового интереса, представлены преимущества, получаемые обществом, владельцами и пользователями вещей от аренды товаров. Установлены ключевые мотивы посетителей сервисов шеринга вещей: бережливость и желание временно обладать более качественными и дорогостоящими предметами, чем они могут позволить себе купить. Исследование показало, что динамика популярности различных товаров у пользователей шеринга вещей неоднородна: например, быстрый рост спроса на квадроциклы и сноуборды в последние годы сменился снижением, а востребованность инструментов и платьев, наоборот, увеличилась. Основными препятствиями для развития аренды вещей выступают: ее высокая стоимость, низкая осведомленность потребителей, трудности с доставкой, большие затраты времени на поиск и получение товара, возможные риски его повреждения. В статье делается вывод, что, с одной стороны, российские потребители постепенно осознают преимущества шеринга вещей, а с другой — количество посетителей сайтов, предоставляющих услуги по аренде различных товаров, невелико и намного ниже, чем у сайтов торговых компаний. Таким образом, шеринг вещей, несмотря на быстрое развитие, пока не составляет заметную конкуренцию розничной торговле.

Introduction Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Patients are increasingly using internet search to find health-related information, including searches for cardiovascular diseases and risk factors. We sought to evaluate the change in the state by state correlation of cardiovascular disease and risk factors with Google Trends search volumes. Methods Data on cardiovascular disease hospitalizations and risk factor prevalence were obtained from the publically available Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website from 2006 to 2018. Google Trends data were obtained for matching conditions and time periods. Simple linear regression was performed to evaluate for an increase in correlation over time. Results Hospitalizations for six separate cardiovascular disease conditions showed moderate to strong correlation with online search data in the last period studied (heart failure (0.58, p Conclusion The prevalence of and hospitalizations for cardiovascular conditions in the United States strongly correlate with online search volumes in the United States when analyzed by state. This relationship has progressively strengthened or been strong and stable over recent years for these conditions. Google Trends represents an increasingly valuable tool for evaluating the burden of cardiovascular disease and risk factors in the United States.

The increasing attention on Bitcoin since 2013 prompts the issue of possible evidence for a causal relationship between the Bitcoin market and internet attention. Taking the Google search volume index as the measure of internet attention, time-varying Granger causality between the global Bitcoin market and internet attention is examined. Empirical results show a strong Granger causal relationship between internet attention and trading volume. Moreover, they indicate, beginning in early 2018, an even stronger impact of trading volume on internet attention, which is consistent with the rapid increase in Bitcoin users following the 2017 Bitcoin bubble. Although Bitcoin returns are found to strongly affect internet attention, internet attention only occasionally affects Bitcoin returns. Further investigation reveals that interactions between internet attention and returns can be amplified by extreme changes in prices, and internet attention is more likely to lead to returns during Bitcoin bubbles. These empirical findings shed light on cryptocurrency investor attention theory and imply trading strategy in Bitcoin markets.

Background Salmonella infection (salmonellosis) is a common infectious disease leading to gastroenteritis, dehydration, uveitis, etc. Internet search is a new method to monitor the outbreak of infectious disease. An internet-based surveillance system using internet data is logistically advantageous and economical to show term-related diseases. In this study, we tried to determine the relationship between salmonellosis and Google Trends in the USA from January 2004 to December 2017. Methods We downloaded the reported salmonellosis in the USA from the National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) from January 2004 to December 2017. Additionally, we downloaded the Google search terms related to salmonellosis from Google Trends in the same period. Cross-correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results The results showed that 6 Google Trends search terms appeared earlier than reported salmonellosis, 26 Google Trends search terms coincided with salmonellosis, and 16 Google Trends search terms appeared after salmonellosis were reported. When the search terms preceded outbreaks, “foods” (t = 2.927, P = 0.004) was a predictor of salmonellosis. When the search terms coincided with outbreaks, “hotel” (t = 1.854, P = 0.066), “poor sanitation” (t = 2.895, P = 0.004), “blueberries” (t = 2.441, P = 0.016), and “hypovolemic shock” (t = 2.001, P = 0.047) were predictors of salmonellosis. When the search terms appeared after outbreaks, “ice cream” (t = 3.077, P = 0.002) was the predictor of salmonellosis. Finally, we identified the most important indicators of Google Trends search terms, including “hotel” (t = 1.854, P = 0.066), “poor sanitation” (t = 2.895, P = 0.004), “blueberries” (t = 2.441, P = 0.016), and “hypovolemic shock” (t = 2.001, P = 0.047). In the future, the increased search activities of these terms might indicate the salmonellosis. Conclusion We evaluated the related Google Trends search terms with salmonellosis and identified the most important predictors of salmonellosis outbreak.

Introduction Elective hand surgery encompasses a large volume of orthopaedic cases annually. Carpal tunnel syndrome, ganglion cysts, and trigger digits are some of the most common pathologies treated by hand surgeons. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, patient's interest in elective hand surgery for these conditions is uncertain. The objective of this study is to use Google Trends to track online interest in elective hand surgery in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Online search trends regarding elective orthopaedic hand surgery were obtained via Google Trends from November 2019 to November 2020. Three common hand pathologies in lay terms ("carpal tunnel," "‘ganglion cyst’ + ‘wrist cyst,’" and "trigger finger") and three hand surgery-specific keywords ("hand surgery," "carpal tunnel surgery," and "trigger finger surgery") were used as search terms. The search volume index (SVI) graphs for the United States for both sets of search terms were then generated from the Google Trends data and compared to the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day as reported by the CDC. A separate SVI graph was then created for the search term "coronavirus” and was compared against both sets of search terms as above. Results Search trends for all elective hand pathologies and surgery-specific keywords remained constant from November 2019 to the beginning of March 2020 and then decreased significantly within a one-month period following the peak in COVID-19 cases the week of March 15, 2020. Search trends for these keywords increased to baseline levels over the next few months. The search trend for "coronavirus" demonstrated a small search volume index peak of 13 during January 2020 followed by the maximum peak of 100 during the week of March 15, 2020, corresponding to the decrease in search trends of elective hand surgery at that time. Conclusions Online interest in elective hand surgery remained constant prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, there was a marked decrease in search trends of elective hand surgery with the rise in daily reported COVID-19 cases, suggesting that patient's interest in elective hand surgery decreased with the onset of the pandemic.

Purpose To assess national internet search trends/public interest in refractive diseases and treatments during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A Google Trends search for refractive terms was performed during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Refractive terms were divided into disease and treatment terms. Relative search volume (RSV) indices were assessed in the United States from the initial lockdown period (March 1 - June 28), summer reopening period (July 5 - November 1), and winter case surge/vaccine rollout period (November 8 - February 28). A t-test of two independent samples assuming unequal variances was utilized in comparing the pandemic year to pooled data of overlapping weeks between 2016-2019. Results The majority of disease and treatment terms showed a significant decrease in RSV during the initial lockdown period (p

Background COVID-19 has caused the worst international crisis since World War II. Italy was one of the countries most affected by both the pandemic and the related infodemic. The success of anti–COVID-19 strategies and future public health policies in Italy cannot separate itself from the containment of fake news and the divulgation of correct information. Objective The aim of this paper was to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on web interest in conspiracy hypotheses and risk perception of Italian web users. Methods Google Trends was used to monitor users’ web interest in specific topics, such as conspiracy hypotheses, vaccine side effects, and pollution and climate change. The keywords adopted to represent these topics were mined from Bufale.net—an Italian website specializing in detecting online hoaxes—and Google Trends suggestions (ie, related topics and related queries). Relative search volumes (RSVs) of the time-lapse periods of 2016-2020 (pre–COVID-19) and 2020-2021 (post–COVID-19) were compared through percentage difference (∆%) and the Welch t test (t). When data series were not stationary, other ad hoc criteria were used. The trend slopes were assessed through Sen slope (SS). The significance thresholds have been indicatively set at P=.05 and t=1.9. Results The COVID-19 pandemic drastically increased Italian netizens’ interest in conspiracies (∆% ∈ [60, 288], t ∈ [6, 12]). Web interest in conspiracy-related queries across Italian regions increased and became more homogeneous compared to the pre–COVID-19 period (average RSV=80±2.8, tmin=1.8, ∆min%=+12.4, min∆SD%=–25.8). In addition, a growing trend in web interest in the infodemic YouTube channel ByoBlu has been highlighted. Web interest in hoaxes has increased more than interest in antihoax services (t1=11.3 vs t2=4.5; Δ1%=+157.6 vs Δ2%=+84.7). Equivalently, web interest in vaccine side effects exceeded interest in pollution and climate change (SSvaccines=0.22, P Conclusions COVID-19 has given a significant boost to web interest in conspiracy hypotheses and has made it more uniform across regions in Italy. The pandemic accelerated an already-growing trend in users’ interest toward some fake news sources, including the 500,000-subscriber YouTube channel ByoBlu, which was removed from the platform by YouTube for disinformation in March 2021. The risk perception related to COVID-19 vaccines has been so distorted that vaccine side effect–related queries outweighed those relating to pollution and climate change, which are much more urgent issues. Moreover, a large amount of fake news has circulated about COVID-19 vaccines, remedies, and origin. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the Italian authorities implement more effective infoveillance systems, and that communication by the mass media be less sensationalistic and more consistent with the available scientific evidence. In this context, Google Trends can be used to monitor users’ response to specific infodemiological countermeasures. Further research is needed to understand the psychological mechanisms that regulate risk perception.