Abstract
Purpose :
Prior studies have examined social media and internet-based search data to study epidemiological factors of infectious eye diseases. None have looked at infectious keratitis. The purpose of this study is to if social media and Google search data could identify seasonal and geographic trends in the incidence of corneal ulcers in the United States.
Methods :
This is a case series of all corneal ulcer-related data collected from two major social media websites and Google trends from 2017 to 2021. Instagram and Twitter were searched for posts and hashtags related to “corneal ulcer.” Web and image search volume of “corneal ulcer” were collected from Google trends (https://trends.google.com). Data was compared between seasons, defined by 3-month intervals, and chi-square tests used to determine statistical significance.
Results :
165 individuals (79% female) and 164 individuals (79% female) posted personal new corneal ulcer diagnoses on Twitter and Instagram, respectively. Summer resulted in the highest number of both Twitter (34%, p=0.07) and Instagram (33%, p=0.68) posts. Similarly, summer was the most popular season for Google web and image searches of “corneal ulcer” (search volume average of 58.4 and 41.2, p=0.74 and p=0.01, respectively, with 100 being peak popularity). Of the 66 Twitter posts with available geographic data, 14% comprised New York residents. Of the 71% Instagram posts with available geographic data, 18% were from California residents. Both Google Web and Image searches were evenly distributed between most states, averaging about 2-4%. Across all platforms, the South was the most represented (32% Twitter, 38% Instagram, 32% Google Web, 33% Google Images).
Conclusions :
Our results indicate that social media and Google trends may reflect seasonal and geographic patterns of corneal ulcer incidence in the US. However, further study with increased power is needed.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.