Google search trends for itch in Europe: a retrospective longitudinal study

Burden of atopic dermatitis in Europe: A population-centred approach leveraging web search data in 21 European countries

BACKGROUND

The complexity, high prevalence, and substantial personal and socioeconomic burden collectively render atopic dermatitis (AD) a major public health concern. Using crowdsourced Internet data has the potential to provide unique insights into this concern, as demonstrated by several previous studies. However, a comprehensive comparison across European countries remains lacking.

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to investigate AD-related web searches across Europe to assess spatiotemporal variations and associations between disease-related and external factors.

METHODS

AD-related web search data were extracted for 21 European countries between February 2019 and January 2023. Descriptive analysis and autocorrelation functions were performed to examine spatiotemporal patterns. Correlations (r) were used to evaluate the associations between web searches and disease-related, socioeconomic and meteorological data.

RESULTS

Over 241 million AD-related web searches were identified, with search volume varying substantially among European countries (p < 0.001) and correlating with AD prevalence and disease burden (both r = 0.51, p = 0.019). Search volume increased between 2019 and 2023 in all countries and seasonally peaked in January and March. Negative correlations with median population age (r = -0.46, p = 0.039), number of general practitioners (r = -0.29, p = 0.226) and specialists (r = -0.27, p = 0.270) were observed. Moderate to strong correlations were found between search volume and cold, humid and windy weather with fewer sunshine hours, while higher online interest typically occurred 1-3 months after such weather conditions.

CONCLUSION

The study highlights the great potential of online crowdsourced data analysis, for example, to investigate the impact of climate change or to identify unmet needs at a population level. Furthermore, the growing online interest in AD and the corresponding seasonal peaks emphasize the necessity of adapting treatment plans, intensifying public health campaigns, and disseminating reliable online information by governments and healthcare providers, especially during these periods.

Novel, computational IgE-clustering in a population-based cross-sectional study: Mapping the allergy burden

BACKGROUND

Even though the prevalence of allergies is increasing, population-based data are still scarce. As a read-out for chronic inflammatory information, new methods are needed to integrate individual biological measurements and lifestyle parameters to mitigate the consequences and costs of allergic burden for society.

METHODS

More than 480.000 data points were collected from 1462 Luxembourg adults during the representative, cross-sectional European Health Examination Survey, spanning health and lifestyle reports. Deep IgE-profiles based on unsupervised clustering were correlated with data of the health survey.

FINDINGS

42.6% of the participants reported a physician-diagnosed allergy and 44% were found to be IgE-positive to at least one allergen or extract. The main sensitization sources were tree pollens followed by grass pollens and mites (52.4%, 51.8% and 40.3% of sensitized participants respectively), suggesting seasonal as well as perennial burden. The youngest group of participants (25-34 years old) showed the highest burden of sensitization, with 18.2% of them having IgE to 10 or more allergen groups. Unsupervised clustering revealed that the biggest cluster of 24.4% of participants was also the one with the highest medical need, marked by their multi-sensitization to respiratory sources.

INTERPRETATION

Our novel approach to analyzing large biosample datasets together with health information allows the measurement of the chronic inflammatory disease burden in the general population and led to the identification of the most vulnerable groups in need of better medical care.

Impact of asthma in Europe: A comparison of web search data in 21 European countries

Background

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways and one of the most important non-communicable diseases worldwide. Analyzing crowdsourced data can help understand public interest and unmet needs as well as potential factors influencing search behavior.

Objective

The study aimed to investigate asthma-related web search data in Europe to identify possible regional and seasonal variations and to assess public interest.

Methods

Google Ads Keyword Planner was used to measure search volume for search terms related to asthma, allergic asthma, and bronchial asthma in 21 European countries between January 2018 and December 2021. The top 10 keywords of each country were categorized qualitatively. Search volume per 100 000 inhabitants was descriptively assessed in terms of regional and seasonal trends. Spearman correlations between search volume and pollen concentration as well as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases were investigated.

Results

The median search volume per 100 000 inhabitants for asthma and allergic asthma was highest in Northern and Western Europe, while the highest search volume for bronchial asthma was observed in Western and Eastern regions. A seasonal trend was identified for all search terms and in all regions. Correlations were found between search frequency and pollen load and search behavior and COVID-19 cases. Overall, Europeans were most interested in the diseases in general, their treatment options, and symptoms.

Conclusion

These results highlighted the need for reliable and region-specific information about the disease and for public campaigns to improve asthma control. The study also emphasizes the importance of using crowdsourced data for a more encompassing overview beyond conventional healthcare data.

Assessing the national burden of allergic asthma by web-search data, pollen counts, and drug prescriptions in Germany and Sweden

Background

Asthma and its main phenotype allergic asthma are prevalent, chronic, and complex diseases affecting 4% of the population. One main trigger for allergic asthma exacerbations is pollen. Online health information search behavior by people is increasing, and analysis of web-search data can provide valuable insight into disease burden and risk factors of a population.

Objectives

We sought to perform a web-search data analysis and correlation to climate factors and pollen in 2 European countries.

Methods

We analyzed the national web-search volume for allergic asthma-related keywords in Germany and Sweden from 2018 to 2021 and correlated it to local pollen counts, climatic factors, and drug prescription rates.

Results

Per capita, more searches were conducted in Sweden than in Germany. A complex geographic stratification within the countries was observed. Search results were seasonal with a peak in spring and correlated with pollen counts in both countries. However, anti-asthmatic drug prescription rates in Sweden, as well as temperature and precipitation in both countries, did not correlate with search volume.

Conclusion

Our analysis offers population-level insights about this complex disease by reporting its needs and establishing the correlation to pollen counts, which enables a targeted approach in the public health management of allergic asthma. Local pollen counts, as opposed to temperature or precipitation, might be good predictors of allergic asthma disease burden.

Eczema-related Web Search Data in Sweden: Investigating Search Patterns and the Influence of Weather

As atopic eczema is triggered by environmental factors, such as temperature, differences in disease burden between and within countries are possible. One method to study this phenomenon is to perform web-search analysis, since the internet is commonly used to retrieve health-related information. This study, investigating the Google search volume regarding eczema in Swedish counties between April 2017 and March 2021, revealed a continuous increase in number of searches and that the search volume was higher in Northern than Southern Sweden. Gotland had the most searches per 100,000 inhabitants. In general, there was a negative correlation between search volume and temperature (r=-0.315, p < 0.001) and hours of sunshine (r=-0.213, p < 0.001), whereas there was a positive association between search volume and wind (r=0.229, p < 0.001). Search engine analysis is a rapid and cost-effective method of examining search behaviour regarding disease among the general population within a country and, thus, can enable the identification of regions with specific interests and needs.

PEG allergy - A COVID-19 pandemic-made problem? A German perspective

Background

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been used for decades, but only caused allergic reactions exceptionally. Introduction of PEG-containing COVID-19 vaccines might have fostered public interest beyond medical reasoning.

Objectives

To investigate the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the public interest in PEG allergy in Germany and the published PEG allergy cases worldwide.

Methods

A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted to measure public interest in PEG allergy analyzing Google search volume in Germany from February 2018 to January 2022. Medically confirmed “PEG allergy” cases were analyzed by looking at the numbers of PubMed case reports and case series from 1977 until January 2022.

Results

Web results in Germany before COVID-19 show search volumes related to “PEG allergy/testing” was negligible, with 10 search queries per month. The pandemic led to a >200-fold increase from 250 queries 2 years before to 55 720 queries 2 years thereafter, reflecting tremendous public interest. Additionally, the maximum monthly search volume from before to during the pandemic increased immensely for “vaccination” (57-fold), “vaccination and adverse effects” (85-fold), “vaccination and allergy” (71-fold). In contrast, the increase of publication numbers for the search term “PEG allergy” was small from 2019 to 2021 (2.5-fold). Only a very low number of 211 cases with “PEG allergy” worldwide since 1977 could be identified.

Conclusion

PEG allergy became a topic of major public interest because of COVID-19 vaccination. Scientific publications have increased to a lesser extent, probably promoted by public awareness. Conversely, the overall number of cases published with PEG allergy remain very low. The current high demand for COVID-19 vaccination allergy testing is triggered by public interest instead of medical reasoning.

Seasonal Patterns and Trends in Dermatoses in Poland

Background: The amount of data available online is constantly increasing, including search behavior and tracking trends in domains such as Google. Analyzing the data helps to predict patient needs and epidemiological events more accurately. Our study aimed to identify dermatology-related terms that occur seasonally and any search anomalies during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Methods: The data were gathered using Google Trends, with 69 entries between January-2010 and December-2020 analyzed. We conducted the Seasonal Mann–Kendal Test to determine the strength of trends. The month with the highest seasonal component (RSV) and the lowest seasonal component (RSV) was indicated for every keyword. Groups of keywords occurring together regularly at specific periods of the year were shown. Results: We found that some topics were seasonally searched in winter (e.g., herpes, scabies, candida) and others in summer (e.g., erythema, warts, urticaria). Conclusions: Interestingly, downward trends in searches on sexually transmitted diseases in comparison with increased infection rates reported officially show a strong need for improved sexual education in Poland. There were no significant differences in trends for coronavirus-related cutaneous symptoms during 2020. We have shown that the seasonality of dermatologically related terms searched in Poland via Google did not differ significantly during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

A comprehensive, tri-national, cross-sectional analysis of characteristics and impact of pruritus in psoriasis

BACKGROUND

Pruritus is prevalent in psoriasis but still many features of pruritus, its response to therapy and its burden in psoriasis remain to be better characterized.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate characteristics and burden of pruritus in an international cohort of patients with psoriasis.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included a total of 634 patients and 246 controls from Germany, Poland and Russia. Physicians examined and interviewed participants, recording clinical characteristics, such as severity, therapy and localization of psoriatic lesions. Participants filled out self-reported questionnaires including questions on pruritus severity and impact, characteristics, and response to therapy, and quality of life (QoL). Localization patterns of pruritus and skin lesions were visualized using body heat maps.

RESULTS

Most patients (82%) experienced pruritus throughout their disease, and 75% had current pruritus. The majority of patients (64%) perceived pure pruritus, and those who reported additional painful and/or burning sensations (36%) reported overall stronger pruritus. The scalp was the most frequently reported localization of pruritus, even in the absence of skin lesions. Body surface area (BSA) of pruritus was not linked to pruritus intensity, but to BSA of psoriatic lesions (rho = 0.278; P < 0.001). One third of patients (31%) reported impaired sex-life, and 4% had suicidal ideations due to pruritus. In up to one third of patients, psoriasis therapies had little or no effect on pruritus. The only therapeutic option offered to some of these patients were antihistamines, which appeared to be effective in most cases.

CONCLUSION

Pruritus is highly prevalent in psoriasis and is linked to a significant burden. Current psoriasis therapies are frequently insufficient to control pruritus. Managing psoriasis should include the assessment and control of itch. Efficient antipruritic therapies should be developed and be made available for patients with psoriasis.

[Atopic dermatitis-identifying needs in the German population by internet search queries]

Hintergrund

Das Internet ist eine der wichtigsten Informationsquellen für gesundheitliche Themen für die Allgemeinbevölkerung. Deshalb kann die Analyse von Internetsuchmaschinen dabei helfen, die gesellschaftlichen Interessen und Bedürfnisse bezüglich Erkrankungen zu erfassen.

Ziel

Ziel dieser Studie war es, die Suchanfragen zu atopischer Dermatitis (AD) in Bezug auf Häufigkeit, Interessenschwerpunkt und zeitliches Auftreten in allen deutschen Bundesländern zu untersuchen, um mögliche regionale Unterschiede zu identifizieren.

Material und Methoden

Mithilfe des Google Ads Keyword Planner wurden AD relevante Keywords inklusive deren monatlichen Suchvolumens zwischen Januar 2017 und Dezember 2020 identifiziert, die in Interessenschwerpunkte unterteilt wurden.

Ergebnisse

Es wurden 1419 Keywords gefunden, die ein Suchvolumen von 14.817.610 Anfragen hatten. Das größte Suchvolumen hatte die Kategorie Allgemein (n = 5.970.840), jedoch wurden der Kategorie Lokalisation die meisten Keywords zugeordnet (n = 348). Rund 60 % der Keywords zu Lokalisation bezogen sich auf AD im Gesicht. Von allen Bundesländern hatten Bremen und Hamburg das größte Suchvolumen pro 100.000 Einwohner. Mit über 70 % war ein enormer Anstieg im Suchvolumen zu beobachten, der v. a. 2020 sichtbar wurde.

Diskussion

Durch diese Internetsuchmaschinenanalyse konnte verdeutlicht werden, welche AD-relevanten Aspekte von besonderer Bedeutung für die Bevölkerung waren, was dabei helfen kann, Informationskampagnen zielgerichtet anzupassen. Zudem unterstreicht die Studie die immer größer werdende Relevanz des Internets als Informationsquelle für gesundheitliche Themen.

Zusatzmaterial online

Die Online-Version dieses Beitrags (10.1007/s00105-022-04974-x) enthält zusätzliche Tabellen. Beitrag und Zusatzmaterial stehen Ihnen im elektronischen Volltextarchiv auf https://www.springermedizin.de/der-hautarzt zur Verfügung. Sie finden das Zusatzmaterial am Beitragsende unter „Supplementary Information“.

[Web search data as health data? : Geographic differences, temporal trends, and topics of interest from internet search engine analyses in Germany]

Hintergrund

Die eingeschränkt zeitnahe, kostengünstige und regionale Verfügbarkeit von Daten im Gesundheitswesen gilt als einer der limitierenden Faktoren für zeitgerechte Analysen im Bereich der Versorgungsforschung und damit für die Gesundheitsversorgung der allgemeinen Bevölkerung. Deshalb geraten zunehmend Internetsuchmaschinenanalysen in den Fokus.

Fragestellung

Welchen Beitrag können Daten zum Internetsuchvolumen zu verschiedenen Erkrankungen in der Gesundheitsversorgung der deutschen Bevölkerung leisten? Wo liegt das Potenzial, und wo gibt es Grenzen?

Material und Methoden

Es erfolgten die Aufbereitung der aktuellen Literatur sowie eine selektive Übersicht der in den letzten 4 Jahren veröffentlichten Suchmaschinenanalysen zu dermatologischen, allergologischen und infektiologischen Erkrankungen in Deutschland.

Ergebnisse

Durch die Analyse von Suchmaschinendaten konnten zeitliche Entwicklungen wie Saisonalität, Monate mit dem höchsten Suchinteresse und geografische Unterschiede auf nationaler, Bundesländer- und Städteebene abgebildet und Interessenschwerpunkte bezüglich eines die Krankheit betreffenden Themas (z. B. Hautkrebs am Auge oder analer Juckreiz) aufgezeigt werden. Darüber hinaus fanden manche Studien einen Zusammenhang zwischen dem Suchvolumen und externen Faktoren (z. B. Temperatur, ärztliche Versorgungsstruktur) sowie zu registrierten Fällen (z. B. Hautkrebs, Borreliose).

Schlussfolgerung

Internetsuchmaschinendaten liefern als nahezu in Echtzeit verfügbare Datenquelle unter Berücksichtigung der aufgezeigten Fallstricke ein räumlich-zeitliches Abbild hinsichtlich der Bedürfnisse der internetnutzenden Bevölkerung. Sie können besonders nützlich in Situationen sein, in denen traditionelle Gesundheitsdaten begrenzt oder nicht vorhanden sind.

Zusatzmaterial online

Die Online-Version dieses Beitrags (10.1007/s00105-021-04918-x) enthält eine zusätzliche Tabelle. Beitrag und Zusatzmaterial stehen Ihnen im elektronischen Volltextarchiv auf https://www.springermedizin.de/der-hautarzt zur Verfügung. Sie finden das Zusatzmaterial am Beitragsende unter „Supplementary Information“.