Gauging Public Interest in Cataracts in the United States from 2004–2022 with Google Trends

Abstract

Purpose : Cataracts are a leading cause of vision loss and cataract extraction remains the most performed surgery in the United States. Moreover, there is an increasing patient trend of utilizing online information for self-education on health, including ophthalmologic conditions. Subsequently, analysis of Internet search engine patterns could give insight regarding interest and inquiries the American population may have regarding cataracts and cataract surgery.

Methods : Retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted utilizing relative search volume (RSV) extracted from Google Trends on topics “cataract,” “cataract surgery,” and each topic’s 25 most related queries in the US. Exponential regression analysis on monthly RSV data collected from Jan 2004–Dec 2022 was used to quantify search interest over time (T_d=Doubling Time). Average RSV over each year was compared with US Census data utilizing a linear regression model. Average RSV from 2004–2022 was analyzed to identify topic related searches.

Results : Average RSV for cataract increased 88.0% from 50.8 in 2004 to 95.4 in 2022 and 208.6% from 13.5 in 2004 to 41.7 in 2022 for cataract surgery. The topic of cataract was queried 2.73 times more than cataract surgery since 2004 (p<0.01). Regression analysis showed an exponential increase in RSV for each topic, with RSV on cataract surgery (T_d=10.0 years, R²=0.89) increasing at a faster rate than cataract (T_d=19.3 years, R²=0.77). RSV decreased during the first US COVID-19 wave (Mar–May 2020) when compared to the 3-month average RSV prior for cataract (48.6%, p=0.01) and cataract surgery (42.9%, p<0.01). The most common related query for “cataract” pertained to treatment (64.2%), while for “cataract surgery” involved procedure education (41.5%), postoperative care/outcomes (26.1%), and cost (10.1%). Increases in the US population over the age of 65 positively correlated with RSV increases on cataract (R²=0.88) and cataract surgery (R²=0.94) since 2004.

Conclusions : An exponential increase in Internet searches on cataracts matches the growing aging American population, with the most common related clarifying queries being disease/treatment education and cost. These results may guide cataract education practices and highlights how search data can elucidate public interest on ophthalmologic topics.

This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.

 

Dotted lines represent exponential regression trendlines. Highlighted area demarcates first COVID-19 wave in the US.