Celiac Disease in Children and YouTube: Do the Videos Contain Accurate Information?

Abstract

Objective: Celiac disease (CD) is a gluten-associated enteropathy whose incidence has been increasing in recent years. Parents whose children are diagnosed with CD search for information about the disease via the internet. YouTube is one of the most frequently used platforms to access information due to the number of users and ease of access. This study aims to investigate how much quality and reliable information the most frequently viewed videos contain for families seeking information about celiac disease in children via YouTube. Materials and Methods: On November 13, 2023, a global search for "Celiac in Children" was conducted on YouTube. The first 150 videos were evaluated using the most frequently watched video filter, and 86 eligible videos were included in the study. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Global Quality Scale (GQS), and modified DISCERN (ModDISCERN) scoring were performed for quality and reliability of the videos. Results: Thirty-five of the videos (40.7%) were related to childhood CD. When analyzed according to the upload source, 67 (77.9%) were created by healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, dietitians, etc.) and 19 (22.1%) by independent users. Of all videos, 62% were of very poor and poor quality (1 and 2 points). Videos created by healthcare professionals had higher JAMA scores, GQS scores, and ModDISCERN scores (P = < .001/P =< .001/P =< .001/P =< .001/P =< .001/P =< .001, respectively). Conclusion: The quality and reliability of the most frequently watched YouTube videos about CD in children were generally low. At this point, analyzing videos on medical topics by experts and adding them to the search algorithm according to the scores will help users access reliable information.