Biannual Differences in Interest Peaks for Web Inquiries Into Ear Pain and Ear Drops: Infodemiology Study

Common Needs of Patients with Diabetic Kidney Disease: Qualitative Analysis Based on Disease-Specific Social Media Platforms

Background

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) patients require comprehensive disease education and mutual support to cope with various challenges. Social media platforms provide opportunities for DKD patients to access information and interact with peers. However, qualitative analysis of DKD patients' real-world concerns and needs on social media is lacking.

Methods

A qualitative study was conducted to analyze DKD patients' posts on Facebook and Baidu DKD-specific forums from June 2013 to June 2023. Posts were retrieved, and the forum with the most DKD-related posts from each platform was selected using stratified random sampling. Thematic analysis was performed to identify common themes, which were categorized and quantified.

Results

In total, 746 DKD-related posts were analyzed, generating 203 keyword categories with 954 tags. Three main themes emerged: Diagnosis and Comorbidities (50.2%), Treatment and Prevention (29.7%), and Lifestyle and Psychology (20.1%). Patients were most concerned about DKD diagnosis, staging, comorbidities, and interpreting diagnostic indicators. They also sought information on treatment advancements, medications, renal replacement therapies, and traditional Chinese medicine. Diet, exercise, work-life balance, family planning, and mental well-being were key lifestyle and psychological concerns.

Conclusion

This study reveals DKD patients' primary needs and concerns on social media, which can guide healthcare professionals in providing targeted education and support. Meeting patients' needs through comprehensive education and counseling can improve treatment adherence and prognosis, though challenges remain in addressing all issues in real-world practice.

Public interest and seasonal peaks for wisdom teeth related web inquiries - A google trends analysis

Objective: The study aimed to analyze the public interest in wisdom teeth-related search terms as well as regional and seasonal trends based on information from the Google search engine.

METHODS

With the help of the online search query tool, Google Trends, the public interest in the primary search term "wisdom teeth" for the timeframe between January 1st, 2004 and September 31st, 2021 was analyzed. To do so, a country-specific search was conducted in English-speaking countries (the USA, the UK, Canada, and Australia) in the northern and southern hemispheres. The extracted time series was examined for reliability, and a Cosinor analysis evaluated the statistical significance of seasonal interest peaks.

RESULTS

The reliability of averaged time series data on the search term "wisdom teeth" was excellent in all examined countries. In all countries analyzed, "wisdom teeth removal" was one of the most common related search terms. Significant interest peaks for wisdom teeth-related search terms were found in Canada and the USA during summer (p < .001). In Canada and the USA, significant seasonal patterns with the highest interest during the summer months, could be displayed.

CONCLUSION

This phenomenon could be caused by increased wisdom teeth-related complaints induced by seasonal climate changes.

Search Engine Use for Health-Related Purposes: Behavioral Data on Online Health Information-Seeking in Germany

Internet searches for health-related purposes are common, with search engines like Google being the most popular starting point. However, results on the popularity of health information-seeking behaviors are based on self-report data, often criticized for suffering from incomplete recall, overreporting, and low reliability. Therefore, the current study builds on user-centric tracking of Internet use to reveal how individuals actually behave online. We conducted a secondary analysis of passively recorded Internet use logs to examine the prevalence of health-related search engine use, the types of health information searched for, and the sources visited after the searches. The analysis revealed two key findings. 1) We largely support earlier survey-based findings on the prevalence of online health information seeking with search engines and the relatively minor differences in information-seeking behaviors between socio-demographic groups. 2) We provide a more granular picture of the process of HISB using search engines by identifying different selection patterns depending on the scope of the searches.

The association between acute otitis externa-related emergency department visits and extreme weather events in a temperate continental climate

BACKGROUND

Climate change is a global challenge that is resulting in an increased occurrence of extreme weather events. Extreme weather events have been shown to negatively impact various health conditions, leading to an overall increase in morbidity and mortality. Ear, nose, and throat (ENT) emergencies are among the most common reasons for emergency department visits (EV). Acute otitis externa (AOE), an inflammatory external auditory canal skin infection, is the second most common condition for ENT-related emergency admissions. Previously, AOE has been associated with higher temperatures during summer; However, no data exists on extreme weather events' immediate and delayed effects on AOE-related EVs. Identifying these relationships could help predict EVs, optimize health resources, and relieve its significant burden on healthcare systems.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to associate the effects of extreme weather events with the immediate and delayed risk of AOE-related EVs.

METHODS

A total of 1522 AOE-related EVs from the ENT outpatient clinic of the Vienna General Hospital between 2015 and 2018 were analyzed. Meteorological data for the same study period was obtained from the Austrian Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics for Vienna and a distributed lag non-linear model used to associate extreme weather events with the total number of AOE-related EVs. Relative risk (RR) and cumulative RR were analyzed over a period of 14 days.

RESULTS

AOE-related EVs showed a pronounced seasonality, with the highest occurrence in summer. The RR for AOE-related EVs was significantly increased one day after high-temperature events for seven days, to a maximum of 1.95 [1.04-3.65]. Low and high relative humidity significantly reduced the same-day occurrence of AOE-related EVs to 0.65 [0.46-0.92] and 0.74 [0.58-0.95]. Increased precipitation and wind speed significantly decreased the RR of AOE-related EVs four and seven days after occurrence. After one day, low atmospheric pressure events showed an increased RR of 1.42 [1.02-1.98] in AOE-related EVs.

CONCLUSIONS

Extreme weather events significantly impact AOE-related EVs. While high mean temperatures were positively correlated with AOE-related EVs, low humidity was found to have a negative same-day effect, supporting the idea of multiple factors being involved in increasing the susceptibility for AOE. Knowledge of the pattern of events could allow the implementation of time-optimized prevention strategies to reduce the incidence of AOE, the frequency of EVs, and the burden on health care systems.

Fluctuations in emergency department visits related to acute otitis media are associated with extreme meteorological conditions

Background

Climate change has been associated with a higher frequency of extreme weather events, resulting in an overall increase in morbidity and mortality. Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common otolaryngological infections and accounts for 1.5% of emergency department visits. This study aimed to identify associations between extreme weather events and the immediate and delayed risks for AOM-related emergency department visits (EV).

Methods

A total of 1,465 AOM-related EVs were identified in the Vienna General Hospital between 2015 and 2018. A distributed lag non-linear model was applied to evaluate the relationship between extreme weather conditions and the total number of AOM-related EVs per day. The relative risk (RR) and cumulative RR (cRR) of single-day events and extended weather events over three days were analyzed over a lag period of 14 days.

Results

AOM-related EVs showed a pronounced seasonality, with the highest occurrence during winter. Single-day weather events affected AOM-related EVs only at high relative humidity. Prolonged extreme weather conditions over three days, however, significantly increased the cRR for AOM-related EVs to 3.15 [1.26-7.88; p = 0.014] and 2.14 [1.14-4.04; p = 0.018] at mean temperatures of -4°C (1^st-percentile - p₁) and 0°C (p₅) on the same day. Relative humidity of 37% (p₁) decreased RR to 0.94 [0.88-0.99; p = 0.032] on day 7, while extremely high humidity of 89% (p₉₉) led to an increased cRR of 1.43 [1.03-2.00; p = 0.034] on day 7. Heavy prolonged precipitation of 24mm (p₉₅) reduced cRR beginning day 4 up until day 14 to 0.52 [0.31-0.86; p = 0.012]. Prolonged low atmospheric pressure events of 985hPa (p₅) reduced the RR to 0.95 [0.91-1.00; p = 0.03], whereas extremely high atmospheric pressure events of 1013hPa (p₉₉) increased the RR to 1.11 [1.03-1.20; p = 0.008]. Extremely low wind speeds significantly diminished the RR of AOM-related EVs.

Conclusions

While single-day extreme weather events had little impact on the occurrence of AOM-related EVs, extended periods of extreme temperatures, relative humidity, precipitation, wind speeds and atmospheric pressure significantly impacted the RR for AOM-related EVs. These findings could help improve healthcare resource allocation in similar climates and aid in educating patients about the role of environmental factors in AOM.