Department of Urology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
Int J Impot Res. 2022 Mar;34(2):172-176. doi: 10.1038/s41443-020-00397-1. Epub 2021 Feb 11.
Several diseases associated with erectile dysfunction (ED), such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary artery disease (CAD), are known to have seasonal variation, with increased incidence during winter months. However, no literature exists on whether this chronological-seasonal evolution is also present within ED symptomatology. We hypothesized ED would follow the seasonal pattern of its lifestyle-influenced comorbid conditions and exhibit increased incidence during winter months. In order to investigate the seasonal variation of ED in the United States between 2009 and 2019, Internet search query data were obtained using Google Trends. Normalized search volume was determined during the winter and summer seasons for ED, other diseases known to be significantly associated with ED (T2DM and CAD), kidney stones (positive control), and prostate cancer (negative control). There were significantly more internet search queries for ED during the winter than during the summer (p = 0.001). CAD and T2DM also had significantly increased search volume during winter months compared to summer months (p < 0.001 and p = 0.011, respectively). By contrast, searches for kidney stones were significantly increased in the summer than in the winter (p < 0.001). There was no significant seasonal variation in the relative search frequency for prostate cancer (p = 0.75). In conclusion, Google Trends internet search data across a ten-year period in the United States suggested a seasonal variation in ED, which implies an increase in ED during winter. This novel finding in ED epidemiology may help increase awareness of ED's associated lifestyle risk factors, which may facilitate early medical evaluation and treatment for those at risk of both ED and cardiovascular disease.
几种与勃起功能障碍（ED）相关的疾病，如 2 型糖尿病（T2DM）和冠心病（CAD），已知具有季节性变化，冬季发病率增加。然而，目前还没有文献报道 ED 的症状是否也存在这种时间季节性演变。我们假设 ED 将遵循受生活方式影响的合并症的季节性模式，并在冬季月份发病率增加。为了研究 2009 年至 2019 年美国 ED 的季节性变化，我们使用 Google Trends 获得了互联网搜索查询数据。在冬季和夏季确定了 ED、与 ED 密切相关的其他疾病（T2DM 和 CAD）、肾结石（阳性对照）和前列腺癌（阴性对照）的正常搜索量。ED 在冬季的互联网搜索量明显高于夏季（p = 0.001）。与夏季相比，CAD 和 T2DM 在冬季的搜索量也显著增加（p < 0.001 和 p = 0.011）。相比之下，夏季肾结石的搜索量明显增加（p < 0.001）。前列腺癌的相对搜索频率没有明显的季节性变化（p = 0.75）。总之，美国十年间 Google Trends 互联网搜索数据表明 ED 存在季节性变化，这意味着 ED 在冬季增加。ED 流行病学中的这一新发现可能有助于提高对 ED 相关生活方式危险因素的认识，这可能有助于那些有 ED 和心血管疾病风险的人进行早期医学评估和治疗。
