BACKGROUND: Online analysis of search queries has become a very useful method in various academic fields for understanding timely and regional differences in the public interest in certain terms and concepts. Particularly in health and medical research, Google TrendsTM has been increasingly used over the last decade. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate, using Google TrendsTM, the search activity of pain-related parameters of the most populated areas over a three-year period, from before the first confirmed COVID-19 cases (January 2018) until December 2020. METHODS: Search terms from the following areas were used for the analysis: India, China, Europe, USA, Brazil, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Twenty-four pain location-based expressions were used. Search terms were extracted using the local language of the respective country. Python scripts were used for data mining. All statistical calculations were performed by exploratory data analysis and nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-tests. RESULTS: Although the overall search activity for pain related terms increased, apart from pain entities such as headache, chest pain, and sore throat discordant search activity could be observed. Among the most populous areas, pain-related search parameters for shoulder-, abdominal-, and chest-pain as well as headache and toothache differed significantly between before and after the first officially confirmed COVID-19 cases. In addition, a significant increase or decrease in pain-related search parameters was shown to be heterogeneous between the most populated areas. We also showed that the significant increase or decrease in pain-related search parameters was heterogeneous between most populous areas. CONCLUSIONS: As internet searches are a surrogate of public interest, we assume that our data are indicative of an increased incidence of pain after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as these increased incidences vary across both, geographical and anatomical locations, our data could motivate to develop specific strategies to support the most affected groups.
BACKGROUND: Online analysis of search queries has become a very useful method in various academic fields for understanding timely and regional differences in the public interest in certain terms and concepts. Particularly in health and medical research, Google TrendsTM has been increasingly used over the last decade. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate, using Google TrendsTM, the search activity of pain-related parameters of the most populated areas over a three-year period, from before the first confirmed COVID-19 cases (January 2018) until December 2020. METHODS: Search terms from the following areas were used for the analysis: India, China, Europe, USA, Brazil, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Twenty-four pain location-based expressions were used. Search terms were extracted using the local language of the respective country. Python scripts were used for data mining. All statistical calculations were performed by exploratory data analysis and nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-tests. RESULTS: Although the overall search activity for pain related terms increased, apart from pain entities such as headache, chest pain, and sore throat discordant search activity could be observed. Among the most populous areas, pain-related search parameters for shoulder-, abdominal-, and chest-pain as well as headache and toothache differed significantly between before and after the first officially confirmed COVID-19 cases. In addition, a significant increase or decrease in pain-related search parameters was shown to be heterogeneous between the most populated areas. We also showed that the significant increase or decrease in pain-related search parameters was heterogeneous between most populous areas. CONCLUSIONS: As internet searches are a surrogate of public interest, we assume that our data are indicative of an increased incidence of pain after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as these increased incidences vary across both, geographical and anatomical locations, our data could motivate to develop specific strategies to support the most affected groups.
Authors: Farah Yasmin; Muhammad Sohaib Asghar; Unaiza Naeem; Hala Najeeb; Hamza Nauman; Muhammad Nadeem Ahsan; Abdullah Khan Khattak Journal: Front Public Health Date: 2022-03-09