COVID-19's impact on interest in gastrointestinal topics

Authors

Michael B. Yan, Department of Internal Medicine, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY, USA. michaelyanusa@gmail.com.
Haig Pakhchanian, Department of Gastroenterology, George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Science, Washington, DC, USA.
Rahul Raiker, Section of Gastroenterology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Osama Boustany, Section of Gastroenterology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Ahmad Khan, Division of Gastroenterology and Liver Disease, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Shailendra Singh, Section of Gastroenterology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

6-15-2022

Journal

Environmental science and pollution research international

DOI

10.1007/s11356-022-21173-2

Keywords

COVID-19; Epidemiology; Gastrointestinal; Google Trends; Health services; Infodemiology

Abstract

There has been a disparity in familiarity regarding the public interest in gastroenterology terminologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to understand the outcomes of the public's view on gastrointestinal topics and their potential social effects. This study is a comparative analysis of American Google Trends gastrointestinal terminology during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to a similar time frame (March 2018-February 2020) to determine how trends in the patient-seeking behavior of gastrointestinal terminology changed throughout the pandemic. The analysis discovered a substantial decrease in search volumes of gastrointestinal topics, more significantly in the first pandemic months. Later in the pandemic, search volumes trended toward pre-pandemic years in terms of public interest. In the case of gastrointestinal procedures, endoscopy and colonoscopies, they surpassed pre-pandemic interest levels statistically (p-values of 0.01 and 0.002). The public's decreased interest in gastrointestinal topics at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic may have adverse effects on the healthcare maintenance of patients who could have had a positive outcome in their gastrointestinal health with proper monitoring. Although gastrointestinal internet searches increased toward pre-pandemic levels as the seasons progressed, further research is needed to determine the social impact of decreased public interest.

APA Citation

Yan, Michael B.; Pakhchanian, Haig; Raiker, Rahul; Boustany, Osama; Khan, Ahmad; and Singh, Shailendra, "COVID-19's impact on interest in gastrointestinal topics" (2022). GW Authored Works. Paper 1116.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/1116

Department

School of Medicine and Health Sciences Student Works