Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, New England Baptist Hospital, Tufts University School of Medicine, 800 Washington St, TMC Box #306, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, New England Baptist Hospital, Tufts University School of Medicine, 800 Washington St, TMC Box #306, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
J Natl Med Assoc. 2021 Oct;113(5):522-527. doi: 10.1016/j.jnma.2021.04.001. Epub 2021 May 4.
There is growing interest in passively-generated online search data for health sciences research, but limited use to address musculoskeletal illness.
QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: (1) To determine geographic and seasonal patterns in Google queries for shoulder, knee, hip, and neck pain across the United States, and (2) to quantify the state-level correlation of the volume of online symptom searches with rates of various population health indicators.
Using Google trends, we identified queries for shoulder, knee, hip, and neck pain in every state of the United States during 2018. We assessed the correlation of state-level Google search volumes with 9 population health indicators extracted from the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey: tobacco use, obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, depression, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, participation in physical activities, and college education.
Neck and shoulder pain were the most common queries in most Southern states, while knee pain was generally the top query elsewhere. Queries for neck and shoulder pain peaked during the late fall and winter, while searches for knee and hip pain peaked in the spring. State-level search volumes for shoulder and neck pain correlated closely with all health indicators--particularly with tobacco use, obesity, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, participation in physical activities and college education. The only strong correlation of hip pain queries was with self-reported prevalence of arthritis. Knee pain queries were not associated with any of the studied health indicators.
This study highlights the potential of search engine data to be utilized as population-level health indicators. The state-level correlation of psychosocial and behavioral health indicators with online search volumes for neck and shoulder pain may reflect the influence of mental and social health on the experience of pain.
人们对用于健康科学研究的被动生成在线搜索数据越来越感兴趣，但在解决肌肉骨骼疾病方面的应用有限。
问题/目的：（1）确定美国各地肩部、膝盖、臀部和颈部疼痛的谷歌搜索的地理和季节性模式，（2）量化在线症状搜索量与各种人群健康指标的州级相关性。
使用谷歌趋势，我们确定了 2018 年美国每个州的肩部、膝盖、臀部和颈部疼痛的查询。我们评估了州级谷歌搜索量与从 2018 年行为风险因素监测系统调查中提取的 9 个人群健康指标之间的相关性：吸烟、肥胖、糖尿病、高血脂、抑郁、关节炎、心血管疾病、体育活动参与度和大学教育。
在大多数南部州，颈部和肩部疼痛是最常见的查询，而膝盖疼痛通常是其他地方的首要查询。颈部和肩部疼痛的查询在秋季和冬季达到高峰，而膝盖和臀部疼痛的查询在春季达到高峰。肩部和颈部疼痛的州级搜索量与所有健康指标密切相关——尤其是与吸烟、肥胖、心血管疾病、高血脂、体育活动参与度和大学教育。臀部疼痛查询唯一强相关的是关节炎的自我报告患病率。膝盖疼痛查询与研究中的任何健康指标均无关。
本研究强调了搜索引擎数据可作为人群健康指标的潜力。心理社会和行为健康指标与颈部和肩部疼痛在线搜索量的州级相关性可能反映了心理健康和社会健康对疼痛体验的影响。
