Kamiński Mikołaj, Tizek Linda, Zink Alexander
Individual Medical Practice, Bogdanowo, 64-600 Oborniki, Poland.
Department of Dermatology and Allergy, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 4;18(5):2541. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18052541.
The Internet is a common source of health information as search engines propose websites that should answer users' queries. The study aimed to investigate the search behavior of Google users related to skin clinical signs as well as to analyze their geographical, secular, and seasonal patterns. The data of Google Trends was used to analyze the number of Google searches related to skin problems from January 2004 to December 2019. Thirty-four topics representing dermatologic complaints were identified. The interests of all topics were calculated in proportion to the Relative Search Volume (RSV) of 'Scar'. Geographical patterns as well as secular and seasonal trends were analyzed. Countries with few users who searched for skin problems were excluded from the analysis. Globally, gaining the most attention were 'Itch' proportion to RSV of 'Itch' (2.21), 'Hair loss' (1.56), 'Skin rash' (1.38), 'Perspiration' (1.32), and 'Scar' (1.00). In 42 of the 65 analyzed countries, 'Itch' was the most popular topic, followed by 'Hair loss' ( = 7), and 'Pustule' ( = 6). The RSV of all topics increases over time, with 'Comedo' (5.15 RSV/year), 'Itch' (4.83 RSV/year), and 'Dandruff' (4.66 RSV/year) being the most dynamic ones. For 23 topics, the highest interest was noted during warm months. Considering skin manifestations, Google users are mainly interested in itch, hair loss, and skin rash. An increasing number of individuals worldwide seem to use Google as a source of health information for dermatological clinical signs during the study period.
互联网是健康信息的常见来源，因为搜索引擎会推荐一些应能回答用户问题的网站。该研究旨在调查谷歌用户与皮肤临床症状相关的搜索行为，并分析其地理、长期和季节性模式。利用谷歌趋势数据来分析2004年1月至2019年12月期间与皮肤问题相关的谷歌搜索次数。确定了代表皮肤病主诉的34个主题。所有主题的关注度均按照“疤痕”的相对搜索量（RSV）进行计算。分析了地理模式以及长期和季节性趋势。搜索皮肤问题的用户较少的国家被排除在分析之外。在全球范围内，最受关注的是“瘙痒”（相对于“瘙痒”的RSV为2.21）、“脱发”（1.56）、“皮疹”（1.38）、“出汗”（1.32）和“疤痕”（1.00）。在65个被分析的国家中，有42个国家“瘙痒”是最热门的主题，其次是“脱发”（ = 7）和“脓疱”（ = 6）。所有主题的RSV随时间增加，其中“粉刺”（每年5.15 RSV）、“瘙痒”（每年4.83 RSV）和“头皮屑”（每年4.66 RSV）增长最为显著。对于23个主题，在温暖月份关注度最高。考虑到皮肤表现，谷歌用户主要对瘙痒、脱发和皮疹感兴趣。在研究期间，全球似乎有越来越多的人将谷歌作为皮肤病临床症状健康信息的来源。
