Schober Anna Katharina, Nordlind Klas, Zink Alexander
Department of Medicine Solna, Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
JMIR Form Res. 2025 Aug 27;9:e71992. doi: 10.2196/71992.
The nature of the relationship between psoriasis and alcohol consumption has been the topic of discussion for many years. Some studies have found that a higher intake of alcohol may be associated with a more severe manifestation of the disease. At the same time, patients with psoriasis often demonstrate elevated levels of alcohol consumption. It has not yet been fully established whether alcohol abuse serves as a trigger for psoriasis or if patients with psoriasis are simultaneously more prone to alcohol abuse.
The objective of this study was to employ Google Trends as a tool for crowdsourcing data on a national level to explore the relationship between psoriasis and the consumption of alcohol in Sweden.
This study examines crowdsourced web search data related to psoriasis and other skin disease-related search terms (such as utslag [rash]) as well as search interest in different types of alcohol. The analysis covers a 5-year period from 2018 to 2023 in Sweden, focusing on search behavior and correlations across this period.
The search behavior regarding psoriasis and alcohol-related search terms showed seasonal variations throughout the year. The relative search volume for psoriasis peaked in February, while alcohol-related searches, particularly Systembolaget and vodka, peaked in December and June. Our statistical analysis revealed relationships between the search interest regarding psoriasis and terms related to alcohol consumption, with disparities between different types of alcohol. The term "psoriasis" was negatively correlated with "Systembolaget" (r=-0.210), "vitt vin" (r=-0.224), and "vodka" (r=-0.220) (all P<.001), while the term "utslag" showed positive correlations with these same alcohol-related terms (r=0.278-0.347; P<.001).
Crowdsourced data can offer valuable insights into population-level behavior. The observed negative correlations between psoriasis and alcohol-related searches suggest complex interactions, possibly reflecting reduced disease awareness or care during periods of higher alcohol consumption. The direction and strength of the correlations with psoriasis were not consistent across the different types of alcohol investigated in this study, which poses the question whether the relationship might be influenced by the type of beverage consumed. Further research is warranted to explore underlying mechanisms and validate these findings in clinical populations.
银屑病与饮酒之间关系的本质多年来一直是讨论的话题。一些研究发现，较高的酒精摄入量可能与该疾病更严重的表现相关。与此同时，银屑病患者的饮酒量往往较高。酒精滥用是否是银屑病的触发因素，或者银屑病患者是否同时更易发生酒精滥用，目前尚未完全明确。
本研究的目的是利用谷歌趋势作为一种在国家层面众包数据的工具，以探索瑞典银屑病与酒精消费之间的关系。
本研究考察了与银屑病及其他皮肤病相关搜索词（如“utslag”[皮疹]）相关的众包网络搜索数据，以及对不同类型酒精的搜索兴趣。分析涵盖瑞典2018年至2023年的5年期间，重点关注这一时期的搜索行为及相关性。
银屑病和与酒精相关搜索词的搜索行为全年呈现季节性变化。银屑病的相对搜索量在2月达到峰值，而与酒精相关的搜索，尤其是瑞典酒类专卖店（Systembolaget）和伏特加的搜索量在12月和6月达到峰值。我们的统计分析揭示了银屑病搜索兴趣与酒精消费相关术语之间的关系，不同类型酒精之间存在差异。“银屑病”一词与“瑞典酒类专卖店”（r=-0.210）、“白葡萄酒”（r=-0.224）和“伏特加”（r=-0.220）呈负相关（均P<0.001），而“utslag”一词与这些相同的酒精相关术语呈正相关（r=0.278-0.347；P<0.001）。
众包数据可为人群水平的行为提供有价值的见解。银屑病与酒精相关搜索之间观察到的负相关表明存在复杂的相互作用，可能反映出在酒精消费量较高时期疾病认知或护理的减少。在本研究中，与银屑病相关的相关性方向和强度在不同类型的酒精中并不一致，这就提出了一个问题，即这种关系是否可能受到所消费饮料类型的影响。有必要进行进一步研究以探索潜在机制并在临床人群中验证这些发现。
