Abstract
Background and objective More than half of the population suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) use the internet as a primary source of information on their condition. X (formerly Twitter) has been increasingly used to disseminate healthcare-related information. In this study, we aimed to identify top influencers on the topic of IBD on Xand correlate the relevance of their social media engagements with their professional expertise or academic productivity. Methods X (formerly Twitter) influence scores for the search topicIBD were obtained using Cronycle API, a proprietary software employing multiple algorithms to rank influencers. Data regarding gender, profession, location, and research productivity represented as h-index was collected. Results We collected information on the top 100 IBD influencers on X. The majority of influencers were gastroenterologists, followed by IBD advocates. Of note, 62% of the IBD influencers were from the USfollowed by the UK and Canada. A positive correlation was observed between the Xtopic score and the h-index of the influencer (r=+0.488, p<0.001) Conclusions The strong correlation observed between the Xtopic score and h-index suggests that social media is a viable platform for gaining information regarding IBD. Further research aimed at counteracting misleading information by providing facts and data in a succinct manner about IBD on social media is required to improve disease awareness.
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