Impact of the Coronavirus Disease on Micronutrient Search Trends and Interest in Global Population: A Worldwide Google Trend Analysis
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Manoj Reddy Somagutta 1 2 , Namrata Hange 2 3 * , Atul Wadagale 4 , Alaa Hassan Yousif Hamdan 2 , Molly Sanjay Jain 2 5 , Sai Harsha Bobba 6 , Erkan Batti 6 , Bernard Emuze 5
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1 Department of Medicine, Avalon University School of Medicine, Willemstad, CURACAO2 Larkin Community Hospital: South Miami, South Miami, Florida, USA3 Eurasian Cancer Research Council (ECRC) Chembur, Mumbai, Maharashtra, INDIA4 Department of Community Medicine Vilasrao Deshmukh Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Latur, Maharashtra, INDIA5 Department of Medicine, St. James School of Medicine, Park Ridge, Illinois, USA6 Department of Medicine, Washington University of Health and Science, San Pedro, BELIZE* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background: Globally, micronutrient use has increased over the last few decades for disease prevention and holistic health. This article has analyzed the worldwide search trends of micronutrients in the Google Trends (GT) platform to understand the significance and correlation of search trends, comparing the search interests across countries and recognizing the factors involved.
Methods: Specific search terms were used to identify the search trends of micronutrients in the GT platform. Statistical analysis was done to evaluate the outcomes of significance and correlation of search terms from 2004 to 2021 by using statistical softwares.
Results: There was a rise in searches for micronutrients vitamin D, vitamin C, zinc, & iron from 2004 to June 2021 with a steep increase during 2020 correlating with the COVID-19 pandemic. A stable search has been reported in iron searches. Significance and correlation of vitamin D, vitamin C, zinc, & iron over the years and search interest popularity score of countries for micronutrient searches have been described.
Conclusions: The GT tool can be a necessary tool for healthcare communities and government sectors to understand people’s interests, necessities and respond to their concerns accordingly, thus helping us promote population-centric awareness and achieve better evidence-based outcomes.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Review Article

ELECTRON J GEN MED, 2022, Volume 19, Issue 3, Article No: em372

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/11877

Publication date: 07 Mar 2022

Article Views: 1402

Article Downloads: 1173

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