Doctor Google: Correlating internet search trends for epistaxis with metropolitan climates

Aykut A Unsal; Pariket M Dubal; Julia A Pfaff; Mark E Friedel; Jean Anderson Eloy; Stilianos E Kountakis

doi:10.1016/j.amjoto.2019.02.001

Doctor Google: Correlating internet search trends for epistaxis with metropolitan climates

Am J Otolaryngol. 2019 May-Jun;40(3):358-363. doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2019.02.001. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Authors

Aykut A Unsal¹, Pariket M Dubal², Julia A Pfaff³, Mark E Friedel⁴, Jean Anderson Eloy⁵, Stilianos E Kountakis⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia; Center for Skull Base Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia. Electronic address: aunsal@augusta.edu.
² Department of Anesthesia, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
³ Department of Otolaryngology & Facial Plastic Surgery, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁴ Department of Otolaryngology & Facial Plastic Surgery, Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ, USA.
⁵ Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia; Center for Skull Base Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia.

PMID: 30819541
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2019.02.001

Abstract

Objective: Variation in weather patterns is often cited as a risk factor for epistaxis although robust studies investigating specific climate factors are lacking. As society is increasingly utilizing the Internet to learn more about their medical conditions, we explore whether Internet search activity related to epistaxis is influenced by fluctuations in climate.

Methods: Internet search activity for epistaxis-related search terms during 2012-2017 were extracted from Google Trends and localized to six highly populated cities in the US: New York, New York; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Atlanta, Georgia. Data were compared to local average monthly climate data from the National Centers for Environmental Information for the same time period.

Results: Spearmen correlations (r) were statistically strongest for dew point temperature (r_NewYork = -0.82; r_Philadelphia = -0.74; r_Chicago = -0.65; r_Atlanta = -0.49, r_LosAngeles = -0.3). This was followed closely by relative humidity (r_NewYork = -0.63; r_Philadelphia = -0.57; r_LosAngeles = -0.44; r_Atlanta = -0.42; r_Houston = -0.40) and average temperature (r_NewYork = -0.8; r_Philadelphia = -0.72; r_Chicago = -0.62; r_Atlanta = -0.45). Overall, correlations were most significant and predictable for cities with the greatest seasonal climate shifts (New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago). The weakest environmental factor was barometric pressure, which was found to be moderately positive in Atlanta (r_barometric = 0.31), Philadelphia (r_barometric = 0.30) and New York (r_barometric = 0.27).

Conclusions: Google Trends data for epistaxis-related search activity responds closely to climate patterns in most cities studied, thus underscoring the potential utility of Internet search activity data as a resource for epidemiologic study and for the identification of at risk populations.

Keywords: Barometric pressure; Dew point; Dew point temperature; Epistaxis; Google; Google Trends; Humidity; Nosebleed; Temperature; Weather.

MeSH terms

Atmospheric Pressure
Climate*
Epistaxis / epidemiology*
Humans
Humidity
Internet / statistics & numerical data*
Procedures and Techniques Utilization / statistics & numerical data*
Risk Factors
Search Engine / statistics & numerical data*
Temperature
Urban Population / statistics & numerical data*
Weather*