Epidemiologic evolution of common cutaneous infestations and arthropod bites: A Google Trends analysis

Abstract

Background Common cutaneous infestations and arthropod bites are not reportable conditions in most countries. Their worldwide epidemiologic evolution and distribution are mostly unknown. Objective To explore the evolution and geographic distribution of common cutaneous infestations and arthropod bites through an analysis of Google Trends. Methods Search trends from 2004 through March 2021 for common cutaneous infestations and arthropod bites were extracted from Google Trends, quantified, and analyzed. Results Time series decomposition showed that total search term volume for pubic lice decreased worldwide over the study period, while the interest for ticks, pediculosis, insect bites, scabies, lice, and bed bugs increased (in increasing order). The interest for bed bugs was more pronounced in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics countries, interest for lice in Near East and Middle East countries, and interest for pubic lice in South American countries. Internet searches for bed bugs, insect bites, and ticks exhibited the highest seasonal patterns. Limitations Retrospective analysis limits interpretation. Conclusion Surveillance systems based on Google Trends may enhance the timeliness of traditional surveillance systems and suggest that, while most cutaneous infestations increase worldwide, pubic lice may be globally declining.

Seasonal Patterns and Trends in Dermatoses in Poland

“…The search behavior patterns using Google Trends have been studied previously in the context of dermatologically related topics such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, chilblains, cutaneous infestations with arthropods, hair loss and human papilloma virus [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. We prepared a table that compares the clinical symptoms of common dermatological disorders, their seasonality based on the previous literature and our research ( Table 2 ).…”

Worldwide Evolution of Vaccinable and Nonvaccinable Viral Skin Infections: Google Trends Analysis

“…Google Trends, a web-based tracking system of internet search volumes, has been extensively used in the field of infectious diseases, both for monitoring and surveillance purposes [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]29], and has been shown to be truly reliable for the prediction of epidemic outbreaks [9][10][11][12].…”

“…The RSV values do not represent absolute search volume numbers but rather normalized values reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 is the point of maximum popularity among the search terms or topics over a specified time frame. When no sufficient data are found regarding the search term, the score drops to 0 [ 5 , 12 , 13 , 19 , 20 ]. Relative monthly scores for all search terms and topics are expressed as relative interest scores, which are surrogates for the relative popularity of a particular search term and topic over that time frame.…”

“…Since 2004, Google Trends has been increasingly used to explore web-based health-seeking behaviors, offering a new, interesting tool to monitor public attention with regard to specific diseases. The association between the predictive power of Google Trends and the data of official surveillance systems has been studied for a wide range of medical topics, with the conclusion that it can provide useful real-time data about epidemiological surveillance, screening, and treatment options [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Previous studies have examined the utility of Google Trends to monitor various infectious diseases such as influenza, tuberculosis, Lyme disease, COVID-19, dengue, genital warts, lice, or scabies [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”

“…The association between the predictive power of Google Trends and the data of official surveillance systems has been studied for a wide range of medical topics, with the conclusion that it can provide useful real-time data about epidemiological surveillance, screening, and treatment options [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Previous studies have examined the utility of Google Trends to monitor various infectious diseases such as influenza, tuberculosis, Lyme disease, COVID-19, dengue, genital warts, lice, or scabies [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Since the possible resurgence of some viral skin diseases is a growing concern [14], we investigated whether Google Trends could reflect possible changes in the epidemiology of cutaneous viral infections.…”