Abstract
BackgroundWith COVID-19 leading to several isolation measures for preventative care, health care utilization, especially within urology, decreased substantially. The impact of COVID-19 on the population’s interests in urologic conditions remains to be established. By using the platform of Google Trends, which allows search behaviors and interest in healthcare topics to be quantified over time, we investigated the impact of COVID-19 on online search behaviors relating to common urologic conditions in the US.MethodsThe platform of Google Trends was utilized to analyze online interest in twelve common urologic conditions in the US from October 1, 2018 to August 1, 2021 (divided into “pre-COVID” and “COVID” periods at March 1, 2020). Search volume index (SVI), a measure of relative search volume on Google, data sets for the US, top queried and populated states, rising queries, and top queries were retrieved and analyzed for all conditions. Pre-COVID and COVID median SVIs were compared using the Mann Whitney U test, and correlations were analyzed using Spearman’s rank-order correlation test.ResultsFor all twelve urologic conditions, rising and top queries were often related to symptoms, treatments, and COVID-19. COVID showed higher SVIs for erectile dysfunction (p=0.04) and lower SVIs for bladder cancer (p<0.01), hematuria (p<0.01), kidney cancer (p<0.01), kidney stones (p=0.03), and prostate cancer (p<0.01). Correlations to COVID-19 searches were seen for bladder cancer (RS=-0.36, p<0.01), erectile dysfunction (RS=0.20, p=0.04), hematuria (RS=-0.31, p<0.01), overactive bladder (RS=-0.23, p=0.04), and prostate cancer (RS=-0.33, p<0.01). No correlations were found for benign prostatic hyperplasia, interstitial cystitis, low testosterone, urinary incontinence, and urinary tract infections.ConclusionsOnline interest in many urologic conditions, especially cancers, decreased during COVID. Given the internet’s increasing role in healthcare, a reduced interest could translate to delayed diagnosis and treatment of these conditions. Only erectile dysfunction showed increasing interest, potentially due to research or misinformation linking it to COVID-19.
Highlights
As COVID-19 spread globally, self-isolation, social distancing, and national lockdowns became crucial to control the pandemic
For all twelve urologic conditions, rising and top queries were often related to symptoms, treatments, and COVID-19
Correlations to COVID-19 searches were seen for bladder cancer (RS=-0.36, p
Summary
As COVID-19 spread globally, self-isolation, social distancing, and national lockdowns became crucial to control the pandemic. Since its launch in 2006, Google Trends has been used for healthcare-related research across various disciplines as the tool provides real-time insights into internet search behaviors by tracking and cataloging all Internet queries made through their web-based platforms. Data from these queries can be used to study online health information-seeking behaviors, which patients engage in prior to appointments, and interest in various medical conditions and procedures, especially within urology [6,7]. By using the platform of Google Trends, which allows search behaviors and interest in healthcare topics to be quantified over time, we investigated the impact of COVID19 on online search behaviors relating to common urologic conditions in the US
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