Public interest in dermatologic symptoms, conditions, treatments, and procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from Google Trends

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had substantial effect both on daily life and medical practice. Internet data have been used to analyze the trends in public interest in various medical conditions and treatments. The aim of this study is to analyze the public interest in dermatologic symptoms, conditions, treatments, and procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Google Trends was queried for a total of 120 dermatological search queries. Three periods of 2020 ([March 15-May 9], [May 10-July 4], and [July 5-October 31]) were compared with the previous 4 years (2016-2019). A significantly decreased interest in skin cancers and certain dermatologic conditions (eg, pityriasis rosea and scabies) was observed throughout the study period. Whereas a significant increase of interest in dry skin, hair shedding, oily hair, atopic dermatitis, and hand eczema was detected during the study. An initial decrease in interest was followed by a significant increase for acne, comedones, melasma, rosacea, botox, dermaroller, and peeling. The study demonstrated a significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public interest in dermatology. The present results would help to create healthcare policies and information sources, which can meet the public demand. The reasons for the observed trends and their effect on patient outcomes might be of interest for future studies.

Keywords: COVID-19; Google; dermatology; internet; public interest; skin disorders.