Seasonal Trends in Suicide Attempts-Keywords Related Searches: A Google Trends Analysis
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Klimiuk K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC11241548 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC4224516 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeTemporal trends of disease-specific internet searches may provide novel insights into seasonal dynamics of disease burden and, by extension, disease pathophysiology. The aim of this study was to define the temporal trends in rhinosinusitis-specific internet searches.MethodsThis was a cross sectional analysis of search volume for predefined search terms. Google trends was used to explore the volume of searches for five specific search terms related to rhinosinusitis: nose, mucus, sinus, sinusitis, chronic sinusitis, which were entered into Google web search between 2004 and 2019. Results were analyzed within search "context" which included temporally associated related searches. Relative search volume (RSV) was analyzed for English and non-English speaking countries from the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Analysis of seasonality was performed using the cosinor model.ResultsThe five specific search terms were most related to rhinosinusitis-related search contexts, indicating that they were appropriately reflective of internet queries by patients for rhinosinusitis. The RSV for rhinosinusitis-related terms and more general search terms increased with each passing year indicating constant interest in rhinosinusitis. Cosinor time series analysis revealed inquiry peaks in winter months for all five specific rhinosinusitis-related search terms independent from the hemisphere.ConclusionOver a 15-year period, Google searches with rhinosinusitis-specific search terms consistently peaked during the winter around the world. These findings indirectly support the model of viral infection or exposure as the predominant cause of acute rhinosinusitis and acute exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis.
| S-EPMC8739168 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundDetection of the seasonal patterns of healthy and unhealthy behavior could be helpful for designing individual and population health interventions programs. This study investigates the seasonal variation in sales of common types of products in Poland and Polish Google queries related to healthy behavior.MethodsData of index sales from a large Polish retail store franchise, from January 2014 to August 2019, has been analyzed. The commercial data included twelve types of products. The interest of Google users was investigated using Google Trends statistics for the same period for six lifestyle-related topics. The seasonality was checked using time series analysis.ResultsSix of the consumer goods (dairy, ready-made meals, salty snacks, meats, beer, and cigarettes) were most commonly purchased in summer months, four (processed fish, food fats, wine, and alcohol 30%+) in December, and two (bread and sweets) in October. The lowest sales indexes were observed mostly in February. The interest in four topics that have been analyzed ("Diet," "Dietitian," "Weight loss," and "Gym"), was highest in January, while interest in "Dietary supplements" was high in February, and "Running" in May. The search volume of the Google topics were the lowest in December.ConclusionThe purchase of food, drinks, and cigarettes, and the interest in information regarding different components of a healthy lifestyle has seasonal variation. New Year and Lent might be good periods to encourage healthy behavior. The motivation may decrease in summer and during Christmas.
| S-EPMC8344181 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Different studies have suggested that web search data are useful in forecasting several phenomena from the field of economics to epidemiology or health issues. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to (1) evaluate the correlation between suicide rates released by the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) and internet search trends in Spain reported by Google Trends (GT) for 57 suicide-related terms representing major known risks of suicide and an analysis of these results using a linear regression model and (2) study the differential association between male and female suicide rates published by the INE and internet searches of these 57 terms. METHODS:The study period was from 2004 to 2013. In this study, suicide data were collected from (1) Spain's INE and (2) local internet search data from GT, both from January 2004 to December 2013. We investigated and validated 57 suicide-related terms already tested in scientific studies before 2015 that would be the best predictors of new suicide cases. We then evaluated the nowcasting effects of a GT search through a cross-correlation analysis and by linear regression of the suicide incidence data with the GT data. RESULTS:Suicide rates in Spain in the study period were positively associated (r<-0.2) for the general population with the search volume for 7 terms and negatively for 1 from the 57 terms used in previous studies. Suicide rates for men were found to be significantly different than those of women. The search term, "allergy," demonstrated a lead effect for new suicide cases (r=0.513; P=.001). The next significant correlating terms for those 57 studied were "antidepressant," "alcohol abstinence," "relationship breakup" (r=0.295, P=.001; r=0.295, P=.001; and r=0.268, P=.002, respectively). Significantly different results were obtained for men and women. Search terms that correlate with suicide rates of women are consistent with previous studies, showing that the incidence of depression is higher in women than in men, and showing different gender searching patterns. CONCLUSIONS:A better understanding of internet search behavior of both men and women in relation to suicide and related topics may help design effective suicide prevention programs based on information provided by search robots and other big data sources.
| S-EPMC7186868 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC7502879 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundInternet traffic may reflect the prevalence of real-world ailments. The aim of this study was to analyse queries associated with abdominal pain and to investigate seasonal frequency and trends of searches in Poland.MethodsWe analysed mean search volume from March 2015 to February 2019 of keywords associated with 'abdominal pain' in the Polish language generated from the Google Ads Planner. Keywords were categorised by location, feature or type of pain, concurrent symptoms, frequency and patient groups, etc. We compared differences in search volumes across seasons and years.ResultsOverall, 24,673,430 queries were associated with abdominal pain in the period analysed. The number of searches associated with abdominal pain in winter increased by ~30% compared with queries searched in summer. There were significantly more searches related to abdominal pain located in the epigastric, umbilical, hypogastrium, left lumbar, left iliac and right iliac regions combined with vomiting or fever, and acute or burning sensation in cold months. We did not observe any specific patterns of pain in the right lumbar or left hypochondrium region, co-presence of flatulence, acute, cramping or persistent/chronic or strong abdominal pain.ConclusionInternet queries associated with abdominal pain and related factors have increased in the past 4 years and present a seasonal pattern. Google Ads may be a valuable tool to assess the prevalence of complaints in under-researched regions. The observed trends in queries related to abdominal pain merely reflect the scale of the problem. The reported pattern should be verified in epidemiological studies.
| S-EPMC7391444 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We aimed to rank the most common locations of pain among Google users globally and locally and analyze secular and seasonal trends in pain-related searches in the years 2004-2019. We used data generated by Google Trends (GT) to identify and analyze global interest in topics (n = 24) related to locations of pain and how these progressed over time. We analyzed secular trends and time series decomposition to identify seasonal variations. We also calculated the interest in all topics with reference to the relative search volume (RSV) of "Abdominal pain". Google users were most commonly interested in "Headache" (1.30 [times more frequently than "Abdominal pain"]), "Abdominal pain" (1.00), and "Back pain" (0.84). "Headache" was the most frequent search term in n = 41 countries, while "Abdominal pain" was the most frequent term in n = 27 countries. The interest in all pain-related topics except "Dyspareunia" increased over time. The sharpest increase was observed for "Abdominal pain" (5.67 RSV/year), and "Toothache" (5.52 RSV/year). Most of the topics revealed seasonal variations. Among pain-related topics, "Headache," "Abdominal pain," and "Back pain" interested most Google users. GT is a novel tool that allows retrospective investigation of complaints among Internet users.
| S-EPMC7037174 | biostudies-literature
Project description: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' (n = 7), and 'Pustule' (n = 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.
| S-EPMC7967401 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSmoking is a modifiable risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Evidence of smoking behavior during the pandemic is ambiguous. Most investigations report an increase in smoking. In this context, Google Trends data monitor real-time public information-seeking behavior and are therefore useful to characterize smoking-related interest over the trajectory of the pandemic.ObjectiveThis study aimed to use Google Trends data to evaluate the effect of the pandemic on public interest in smoking-related topics with a focus on lockdowns, vaccination campaigns, and incidence.MethodsThe weekly relative search volume was retrieved from Google Trends for England, Germany, Italy, and Spain from December 31, 2017, to April 18, 2021. Data were collected for keywords concerning consumption, cessation, and treatment. The relative search volume before and during the pandemic was compared, and general trends were evaluated using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Short-term changes and hereby temporal clusters linked to lockdowns or vaccination campaigns were addressed by the flexible spatial scan statistics proposed by Takahashi and colleagues. Subsequently, the numbers of clusters after the onset of the pandemic were compared by chi-square test.ResultsCountry-wise minor differences were observed while 3 overarching trends prevailed. First, regarding cessation, the statistical comparison revealed a significant decline in interest for 58% (7/12) of related keywords, and fewer clusters were present during the pandemic. Second, concerning consumption, significantly reduced relative search volume was observed for 58% (7/12) of keywords, while treatment-related keywords exhibited heterogeneous trends. Third, substantial clusters of increased interest were sparsely linked to lockdowns, vaccination campaigns, or incidence.ConclusionsThis study reports a substantial decline in overall relative search volume and clusters for cessation interest. These results underline the importance of intensifying cessation aid during times of crisis. Lockdowns, vaccination, and incidence had less impact on information-seeking behavior. Other public measures that positively affect smoking behavior remain to be determined.
| S-EPMC11653046 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Data on the number of people who have committed suicide tends to be reported with a substantial time lag of around two years. We examine whether online activity measured by Google searches can help us improve estimates of the number of suicide occurrences in England before official figures are released. Specifically, we analyse how data on the number of Google searches for the terms 'depression' and 'suicide' relate to the number of suicides between 2004 and 2013. We find that estimates drawing on Google data are significantly better than estimates using previous suicide data alone. We show that a greater number of searches for the term 'depression' is related to fewer suicides, whereas a greater number of searches for the term 'suicide' is related to more suicides. Data on suicide related search behaviour can be used to improve current estimates of the number of suicide occurrences.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1140/epjds/s13688-016-0094-0) contains supplementary material.
| S-EPMC7175644 | biostudies-literature