Distinct Diurnal and Day of Week Online Search Patterns Related to Common Eye Conditions
Abstract Importance Studies suggest diurnal patterns of some eye conditions. Leveraging new information sources such as online search data to learn more about such patterns could improve understanding of patient eye-related conditions and well-being and improve timing of clinical and remote eye care.Objective To investigate our hypothesis that the public is likely to consistently search about different eye conditions at different hours of the day or days of week, we conducted an observational study using search data for terms related to eye conditions such as conjunctivitis. We asked if search volumes reflected diurnal or day-of-week patterns and if those patterns were distinct from each other.Design Hourly search data for eye-related and control search terms for 2018 were analyzed and compared.Setting Data from 10 USA states.Exposure Internet search.Participants Populations that searched Google’s search engine using our chosen study terms.Main Outcome Measures Cyclical hourly and weekly online search patterns.Results Distinct diurnal (p<0.001 for all search terms) and day-of-week search patterns for eye-related terms were observed but with differing peak time periods and cyclic strengths. Some diurnal patterns represented reported clinical patterns. Of the eye related terms, “conjunctivitis” and “pink eye” had the strongest diurnal cyclic patterns based on peak-to-trough ratios. Stronger signal was restricted to and peaked in mornings, and amplitude was higher on weekdays. In contrast, “dry eyes” had a higher amplitude diurnal pattern on weekends, with stronger signal occurring over a broader evening to morning period and peaking in early morning.Conclusions and Relevance The frequency of online searches for various eye conditions can show cyclic patterns according to time of day or week. Further studies to understand the reasons for these variations may help supplement current clinical understanding of eye symptom presentation and improve the timeliness of patient messaging and care interventions.Key Points Question Do online public search engine queries for different eye-health terms follow hourly or daily patterns and do the patterns differ from each other or reflect what is known clinically?Findings Unique hourly and day of week eye health related search patterns appear diurnal and can reflect what has been observed clinically.Meaning Online search data may reflect timing of eye conditions and could improve clinical understanding of eye-related symptom occurrence, including outside of clinics. Knowing precisely when patient’s eye condition interests increase holds promise -for example to optimize timing and availability of local or remote eye care resources..
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Preprint| Erscheinungsjahr: |
2024 |
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| Erschienen: |
2024 |
| Enthalten in: |
bioRxiv.org - (2024) vom: 23. Apr. Zur Gesamtaufnahme - year:2024 |
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| Sprache: |
Englisch |
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| Beteiligte Personen: |
Deiner, Michael S. [VerfasserIn] |
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| doi: |
10.1101/2020.07.04.20146449 |
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| PPN (Katalog-ID): |
XBI018309976 |
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| 520 | |a Abstract Importance Studies suggest diurnal patterns of some eye conditions. Leveraging new information sources such as online search data to learn more about such patterns could improve understanding of patient eye-related conditions and well-being and improve timing of clinical and remote eye care.Objective To investigate our hypothesis that the public is likely to consistently search about different eye conditions at different hours of the day or days of week, we conducted an observational study using search data for terms related to eye conditions such as conjunctivitis. We asked if search volumes reflected diurnal or day-of-week patterns and if those patterns were distinct from each other.Design Hourly search data for eye-related and control search terms for 2018 were analyzed and compared.Setting Data from 10 USA states.Exposure Internet search.Participants Populations that searched Google’s search engine using our chosen study terms.Main Outcome Measures Cyclical hourly and weekly online search patterns.Results Distinct diurnal (p<0.001 for all search terms) and day-of-week search patterns for eye-related terms were observed but with differing peak time periods and cyclic strengths. Some diurnal patterns represented reported clinical patterns. Of the eye related terms, “conjunctivitis” and “pink eye” had the strongest diurnal cyclic patterns based on peak-to-trough ratios. Stronger signal was restricted to and peaked in mornings, and amplitude was higher on weekdays. In contrast, “dry eyes” had a higher amplitude diurnal pattern on weekends, with stronger signal occurring over a broader evening to morning period and peaking in early morning.Conclusions and Relevance The frequency of online searches for various eye conditions can show cyclic patterns according to time of day or week. Further studies to understand the reasons for these variations may help supplement current clinical understanding of eye symptom presentation and improve the timeliness of patient messaging and care interventions.Key Points Question Do online public search engine queries for different eye-health terms follow hourly or daily patterns and do the patterns differ from each other or reflect what is known clinically?Findings Unique hourly and day of week eye health related search patterns appear diurnal and can reflect what has been observed clinically.Meaning Online search data may reflect timing of eye conditions and could improve clinical understanding of eye-related symptom occurrence, including outside of clinics. Knowing precisely when patient’s eye condition interests increase holds promise -for example to optimize timing and availability of local or remote eye care resources. | ||
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