El-Sheikha Joseph
Academic Vascular Unit, Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull, UK
Phlebology. 2015 Sep;30(8):533-40. doi: 10.1177/0268355514542681. Epub 2014 Jul 3.
Changes in internet search trends can provide healthcare professionals detailed information on prevalence of disease and symptoms. Chronic venous disease, more commonly known as varicose veins, is a common symptomatic disease among the adult population. This study aims to measure the change in global search demand for varicose vein information using Google over the past 8 years.
The Google Trends instrument was used to measure the change in demand for the use of the local name for varicose veins in several countries across the world between January 2006 and December 2012. The measurements were normalised onto a scale relative to the largest volume of search requests received during a designated time and geographical location. Comparison of national levels of private healthcare and healthcare spending per capita to search demand was also undertaken using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development economic measurements.
Global interest has increased significantly, with linear regression demonstrating a 3.72% year-on-year increase in demand over the 8-year time period (r(2 )= 0.385, p < 0.001). Annual demand significantly increased in the northern hemisphere (p < 0.001 Friedman) yet decreased in the southern hemisphere (p < 0.001 Friedman). Significant seasonality was observed, with warmer months experiencing greater search demand compared to cooler winter months (<0.001 Kruskal-Wallis). National levels of private healthcare did not appear to correlate in search demand (r(2 )= 0.120 p = 0.306). Healthcare spending per capita did not relate to search demand (r(2 )= 0.450 p = 0.077).
There is increasing demand for information about varicose veins on the internet, especially during the warmer months of the year. Online search demand does not appear to be related to healthcare spending.
互联网搜索趋势的变化可为医疗保健专业人员提供有关疾病和症状患病率的详细信息。慢性静脉疾病，更常见的名称是静脉曲张，是成年人群中一种常见的症状性疾病。本研究旨在使用谷歌衡量过去8年全球对静脉曲张信息搜索需求的变化。
使用谷歌趋势工具来衡量2006年1月至2012年12月期间全球多个国家对静脉曲张当地名称的搜索需求变化。这些测量值相对于在指定时间和地理位置收到的最大搜索请求量进行了标准化。还使用经济合作与发展组织的经济指标对各国的私人医疗保健水平和人均医疗保健支出与搜索需求进行了比较。
全球关注度显著增加，线性回归显示在8年期间需求同比增长3.72%（r(2 )= 0.385，p < 0.001）。北半球的年度需求显著增加（p < 0.001，弗里德曼检验），而南半球则下降（p < 0.001，弗里德曼检验）。观察到显著的季节性，与较冷的冬季月份相比，温暖月份的搜索需求更大（<0.001，克鲁斯卡尔-沃利斯检验）。各国的私人医疗保健水平似乎与搜索需求无关（r(^{2})=0.120，p = 0.306）。人均医疗保健支出与搜索需求无关（r(^{2})=0.450，p = 0.077）。
互联网上对静脉曲张信息的需求不断增加，尤其是在一年中的温暖月份。在线搜索需求似乎与医疗保健支出无关。
