Brigo F, Igwe SC, Ausserer H, et al. Why do people Google
epilepsy? An infodemiological study of online behavior for epilepsy-related
search terms. Epilepsy Behav. 2014;31:67‐70. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2013.11.020
Abstract
Millions of people worldwide use the Internet daily as a
source of health information. Google is the most popular search engine and is
used by patients and physicians to search for online health-related
information. This study aimed to evaluate changes in web search behavior
occurring in English-speaking countries over time for terms related to epilepsy
and epileptic seizures. Using Google Trends, data on global search queries for
the terms "epilepsy", "seizure", and "seizures"
between January 2004 and September 2013 were analyzed. The reduction over time
in search queries for the term "epilepsy" (and, to a lesser extent,
"seizures") was counterbalanced by an increased trend in searches for
the term "seizure". Most terms associated with the search queries
were related to symptoms of seizures, especially tonic-clonic seizures, and to
seizures occurring in children. Three peaks in search volume over the period
studied corresponded to news of celebrities having seizures. The volume of
searches for the term "epilepsy SUDEP" was found to be enormously
increased over time. Most people appear to use search engines to look for terms
related to epilepsy to obtain information on seizure symptoms, possibly to aid
initial self-diagnosis. Fears and worries about epileptic seizures and news on
celebrities with epilepsy seem to be major factors that influence online search
behavior.
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