Kemble Jayson P, Liaw Christine W, Alamiri Jamal M, Ungerer Garrett N, Potretzke Aaron M, Koo Kevin
Urologic Surgery, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA.
Urology, Hartford HealthCare, Bridgeport, USA.
Cureus. 2025 Feb 22;17(2):e79452. doi: 10.7759/cureus.79452. eCollection 2025 Feb.
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) therapy was widely touted as a potential treatment or preventive therapy for COVID-19 despite a lack of supporting evidence. One potential harm of high-dose vitamin C supplementation is increased urinary oxalate, which may increase the risk of hyperoxaluria and oxalate kidney stones. This study aims to evaluate public interest in vitamin C during the COVID-19 pandemic based on online search volume and to characterize variation in vitamin C interest as a potential contributor to kidney stone formation. Methods: The volume and frequency of online search traffic related to vitamin C and COVID-19 were assessed using the Google Trends platform (Google LLC, Mountain View, CA, USA) between 2018 and 2022. Weekly relative search volumes (RSV), the proportional volume of online searches for a search term, were assessed to compare variations in online interest in vitamin C and COVID-19. The most popular Google search results for vitamin C as a treatment for COVID-19 were assessed for medical accuracy. Statistical analysis was performed with t-tests and linear regression.
Online search volume for vitamin C increased four-fold at the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020. After the initial outbreak, average RSV for vitamin C remained significantly elevated compared to pre-COVID-19 levels (37.7 vs. 25.1, p<0.001). Weekly RSV for vitamin C increased steadily during the study period (R2=0.59, p<0.001). The peak in online interest in vitamin C corresponded to increased online search volume during three global COVID-19 surges. Among the most popular results for COVID-19-related vitamin C queries, 30% inaccurately suggested that vitamin C had potential benefits in treating COVID-19. None of these search results discussed the potential increased risk of kidney stones with vitamin C supplementation.
Online public interest in vitamin C supplementation increased and remained elevated during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings have implications for increased risk of hyperoxaluria and oxalate stones due to vitamin C supplementation. Kidney stone patients should be counseled that excess vitamin C intake is associated with increased urinary oxalate and incident stone formation.
尽管缺乏支持证据，但维生素C（抗坏血酸）疗法仍被广泛吹捧为治疗或预防新冠病毒病（COVID-19）的潜在疗法。高剂量补充维生素C的一个潜在危害是尿草酸盐增加，这可能会增加高草酸尿症和草酸钙肾结石的风险。本研究旨在根据在线搜索量评估新冠疫情期间公众对维生素C的兴趣，并将维生素C兴趣的变化特征作为肾结石形成的一个潜在因素进行分析。方法：利用谷歌趋势平台（谷歌有限责任公司，美国加利福尼亚州山景城）评估2018年至2022年期间与维生素C和COVID-19相关的在线搜索流量的数量和频率。评估每周相对搜索量（RSV），即搜索词在线搜索量的比例，以比较对维生素C和COVID-19在线兴趣的变化。对维生素C作为COVID-19治疗方法的最热门谷歌搜索结果进行医学准确性评估。采用t检验和线性回归进行统计分析。
2020年3月COVID-19疫情爆发时，维生素C的在线搜索量增加了四倍。在最初的疫情爆发后，维生素C的平均RSV与COVID-19疫情前的水平相比仍显著升高（37.7对25.1，p<0.001）。在研究期间，维生素C的每周RSV稳步增加（R2=0.59，p<0.001）。维生素C在线兴趣的峰值与三次全球COVID-19疫情高峰期间在线搜索量的增加相对应。在与COVID-19相关的维生素C查询的最热门结果中，30%不准确地表明维生素C在治疗COVID-19方面有潜在益处。这些搜索结果均未讨论补充维生素C可能增加肾结石的风险。
在COVID-19疫情期间，公众对补充维生素C的在线兴趣增加且持续升高。这些发现对于补充维生素C导致高草酸尿症和草酸钙结石风险增加具有启示意义。应告知肾结石患者，过量摄入维生素C与尿草酸盐增加和新发结石形成有关。
