Cross-National Differences in Online Search Behavior for Urological Symptoms and Conditions: An Infodemiological Analysis.

IF 1.2 4区医学 Q4 UROLOGY & NEPHROLOGY

Archivos Espanoles De Urologia Pub Date : 2026-06-01 DOI:10.56434/j.arch.esp.urol.20267905.96

Salim Zengin

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to comparatively examine digital search behaviors related to urological symptoms and conditions in Türkiye, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, India, and Japan using Google Trends data.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional, observational digital epidemiology study analyzed weekly web search data from the past five years obtained via the Google Trends platform. Ten urological conditions were evaluated: kidney stones, benign prostatic hyperplasia, dysuria, urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, varicocele, testicular pain, infertility, and penile curvature. Mean Google Trends scores were used for cross-country comparisons, while country-specific digital search profiles were normalized to reflect relative distributions. Searches related to kidney stones were additionally analyzed for seasonal variation. K-means clustering analysis was applied to identify similarities in digital search profiles across countries.

Results: Kidney stones were identified as the urological condition with the highest digital search interest in all countries, with increased search activity observed during the summer months. Benign prostatic hyperplasia and dysuria were among the most frequently searched conditions across all countries. Searches related to reproductive and sexual health showed considerable variation between countries. Clustering analysis revealed that the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom shared similar digital search profiles, whereas India and Japan formed a distinct cluster. Türkiye demonstrated a profile broadly similar to Western countries but with partial divergence.

Conclusions: Digital search behaviors related to urological symptoms and conditions exhibit heterogeneous patterns across countries. Google Trends data may serve as a complementary tool for assessing population-level urological health awareness.

查看原文本刊更多论文

泌尿系统症状和状况在线搜索行为的跨国差异：一项信息流行病学分析。

背景：本研究旨在利用谷歌Trends数据，比较分析日本、美国、德国、英国、印度和日本与泌尿系统症状和状况相关的数字搜索行为。材料和方法：这项横断面、观察性的数字流行病学研究分析了过去五年通过谷歌趋势平台获得的每周网络搜索数据。评估了10种泌尿系统疾病：肾结石、良性前列腺增生、排尿困难、尿失禁、勃起功能障碍、早泄、精索静脉曲张、睾丸疼痛、不育症和阴茎弯曲。平均谷歌趋势得分用于跨国比较，而特定国家的数字搜索概况被标准化以反映相对分布。此外，还分析了与肾结石相关的搜索量的季节变化。采用k均值聚类分析来确定各国数字搜索概况的相似性。结果：肾结石被确定为泌尿系统疾病，在所有国家的数字搜索兴趣最高，在夏季的搜索活动增加。良性前列腺增生和排尿困难是所有国家中最常被搜索的疾病。与生殖健康和性健康有关的搜索在各国之间显示出相当大的差异。聚类分析显示，美国、德国和英国共享相似的数字搜索配置文件，而印度和日本形成了一个不同的集群。乌克兰的情况与西方国家大体相似，但存在部分差异。结论：与泌尿系统症状和状况相关的数字搜索行为在不同国家表现出不同的模式。趋势数据可作为评估人口水平泌尿科健康意识的补充工具。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Archivos Espanoles De Urologia UROLOGY & NEPHROLOGY-

CiteScore

0.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

111

期刊介绍： Archivos Españoles de Urología published since 1944, is an international peer review, susbscription Journal on Urology with original and review articles on different subjets in Urology: oncology, endourology, laparoscopic, andrology, lithiasis, pediatrics , urodynamics,... Case Report are also admitted.