GOOGLE SEARCH TREND FOR GI SYMPTOMS ARE A “HARBINGER” OF COVID-19
GOOGLE SEARCH TREND FOR GI SYMPTOMS ARE A “HARBINGER” OF COVID-19
Check out this fascinating article in Healio about a recent analysis of Google search trends. Searches for GI symptoms correlated with increases in COVID-19 cases several weeks before any actual spike, according to study results.
Helio: Google trends of GI symptoms may be ‘harbinger’ of COVID-19
“Kyle Staller, MD, MPH, of the division of gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital, told Healio Gastroenterology that search data have previously been linked with seasonal influenza epidemics, so he and his colleagues applied the same thinking to the GI symptoms related to COVID-19.
“We know that many patients with COVID-19 develop GI symptoms early in their course, often before manifesting more typical respiratory symptoms,” Staller said. “We were curious if internet search data would bear a similar story such that people would search these symptoms as they occur, thereby giving us an insight into disease incidence before respiratory symptoms develop and they undergo formal testing.”
Researchers used Google Trends to measure the interest in specific GI-related symptoms of COVID-19 (ageusia [loss of taste], abdominal pain, loss of appetite, anorexia, diarrhea and vomiting) alongside data from Harvard Dataverse to measure the true incidence of the disease.”
“Staller and colleagues found that search interest in ageusia, loss of appetite and diarrhea increased 4 weeks prior to the rise in COVID-19 cases for most states. Plots of symptoms vs. cases over time demonstrated an increase in search volume followed by an increase in COVID-19 cases after 3 to 4 weeks.”
“Although preliminary and no substitute for true epidemiologic data, this readily-available resource underscores the importance of GI symptoms as a potential harbinger of COVID-19 infection and suggests that Google Trends may be a valuable tool for prediction of pandemics with GI manifestations.”
Although we at Comprehensive Gastrointestinal Health are not experts in the specialized care of COVID-19, we can try to help sort out the cause of your specific GI symptoms and can help encourage or facilitate the additional evaluation and treatment that you may need. Check out compgihealth.com to learn more about all the services that our team has to offer. Call 224.407.4400 for an appointment of more details.