COVID-19 and thyroid disease: An infodemiological pilot study

Ilias, Ιoannis; Milionis, Charalampos; Koukkou, Eftychia

doi:10.5662/wjm.v12.i3.99

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The epidemiology of acute diseases (like influenza[ 19 - 23 ]) or chronic diseases (like thyroid[ 19 , 25 ] or cardiovascular ailments[ 24 ]) has been shown over the years to be reflected in associated and relevant internet searches, as they are gathered, summarized and reported in Google trends[ 16 - 18 ]. Lending credence to the association between disease cases and internet searches, in 2020-2021, the officially reported cases of COVID-19 worldwide were positively associated with relevant Google trends searches, as it has been shown in research works by our group as well by the work of other researchers[ 19 , 28 , 29 ]. In an analogous way, it would be expected that a true increase in the incidence of PP would also be aptly reflected in Google trends.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The data are amassed via sampling algorithms proprietary to Google and are anonymized and categorized. Searches on the Internet may - according to some researchers - accurately reflect the epidemiology[ 16 - 18 ] of infectious[ 19 - 23 ], acute[ 24 ], or chronic[ 25 ] diseases, including, among others, coronary[ 24 ] or thyroid disease[ 19 , 25 ]. The use of Google trends, with the aim to study a wide range of medical topics, is becoming more widespread.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pandemic and precocious puberty - a Google trends study

Tselebis¹,

Zabulienė²,

Milionis³

et al. 2023

World J Methodol

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BACKGROUND Recent publications from several countries have reported that more young people (mainly girls) are experiencing precocious puberty (PP)/menarche during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic compared to the past. This variation is attributed to the stress of confinement, lack of exercise, obesity and disturbed sleep patterns. A common feature of the relevant papers, however, is the small number of reported cases of PP. Studies have shown that searches for diseases on the internet also reflect to some extent the epidemiology of these diseases. AIM To estimate, through internet searches for PP, any changes in the epidemiology of PP. METHODS We assessed in Google Trends searches for 21 PP-related terms in English internationally (which practically dwarf searches in other languages), in the years 2017-2021. Additionally, we assessed local searches for selected terms, in English and local languages, in countries where a rise in PP has been reported. Searches were collected in Relative Search Volumes format and analyzed using Kendall’s Tau test, with a statistical significance threshold of P < 0.05. RESULTS Internationally, searches for three PP-related terms showed no noticeable change over the study period, while searches for eight terms showed a decrease. An increase was found over time in searches for nine PP-related terms. Of the 17 searches in English and local languages, in countries where a rise in PP has been reported, 5 showed a significant increase over time. CONCLUSION Over the study period, more than half of the search terms showed little change or declined. The discrepancy between internet searches for PP and the reported increase in the literature is striking. It would be expected that a true increase in the incidence of PP would also be aptly reflected in Google trends. If our findings are valid, the literature may have been biased. The known secular trend of decreasing age of puberty may also have played a role.

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