Michael J McCarthy1. 1. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States of America. mmccarthy@ucsd.edu
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Public health statistics are often released too late to affect reversible societal factors affecting suicide. Increasingly, internet search volume is used in epidemiology, but this method has not yet been applied to suicide. METHODS: Google internet search engine activity for suicide-related terms from the years 2004-2009 was measured and correlated to available suicide and intentional self-injury data from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC). RESULTS: Google search volumes correlated to CDC statistics for both suicide and self-injury, but in patterns that differed by age. Whereas internet search activity was negatively correlated to the suicide rate in the general population, it was positively correlated to both intentional self-injury and completed suicides among youth. CONCLUSIONS: Monitoring changes in search volumes on the internet may provide an early indicator of suicide risk within the population. Furthermore, youth may utilize the internet in ways that differ from the general population with respect to suicide. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
BACKGROUND: Public health statistics are often released too late to affect reversible societal factors affecting suicide. Increasingly, internet search volume is used in epidemiology, but this method has not yet been applied to suicide. METHODS: Google internet search engine activity for suicide-related terms from the years 2004-2009 was measured and correlated to available suicide and intentional self-injury data from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC). RESULTS: Google search volumes correlated to CDC statistics for both suicide and self-injury, but in patterns that differed by age. Whereas internet search activity was negatively correlated to the suicide rate in the general population, it was positively correlated to both intentional self-injury and completed suicides among youth. CONCLUSIONS: Monitoring changes in search volumes on the internet may provide an early indicator of suicide risk within the population. Furthermore, youth may utilize the internet in ways that differ from the general population with respect to suicide. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors: Johan Reutfors; Urban Osby; Anders Ekbom; Peter Nordström; Jussi Jokinen; Fotios C Papadopoulos Journal: J Affect Disord Date: 2009-03-26 Impact factor: 4.839
Authors: Shu-Sen Chang; Simon Sai Man Kwok; Qijin Cheng; Paul S F Yip; Ying-Yeh Chen Journal: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Date: 2015-04-10 Impact factor: 4.328
Authors: Patricia A Cavazos-Rehg; Melissa J Krauss; Edward L Spitznagel; Ashley Lowery; Richard A Grucza; Frank J Chaloupka; Laura Jean Bierut Journal: Tob Control Date: 2014-02-05 Impact factor: 7.552
Authors: Tony Durkee; Gergo Hadlaczky; Michael Westerlund; Vladimir Carli Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2011-10-11 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Qijin Cheng; Chi Leung Kwok; Tingshao Zhu; Li Guan; Paul S F Yip Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2015-09-11 Impact factor: 3.390