ABSTRACT
Objective:To analyze the epidemiological trends and population characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)in China by searching keywords related to IBD through Google Trends, Baidu index, and WeChat index, so as to provide a reference for national epidemiological studies on IBD.Methods:IBD-related hot words such as "inflammatory bowel disease" , "Crohn′s disease" , "ulcerative colitis" , "gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)" , "irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)" and " Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori)" were selected. The search volume and trends of the above keywords in the world and China were analyzed through Google Trends, Baidu index and WeChat index. The epidemiological characteristics of IBD in China were summarized. Descriptive methods were used for statistical analysis. Results:The results of Google Trends analysis showed that among 5 common digestive diseases (GERD, IBS, H. pylori infection, IBD and peptic ulcer), GERD was the most concerned disease, while IBD was not the focus among the common digestive diseases. When the global searching scope was limited to IBD related hot words, Crohn′s disease was the disease of primary concern among IBD-related diseases. In South America, South Asia, and parts of Africa, ulcerative colitis was mainly concerned, and in China and countries of Southeast Asia, IBD was more concerned. The searching results of Baidu index indicated that among the national search for IBD-related hot words, the 3 keywords of "inflammatory bowel disease" , "ulcerative colitis" and "Crohn′s disease" were all highly searched, the overall daily average of the search indexes of the 3 keywords were 325, 1 320 and 2 559, respectively, and the searching volume of "Crohn′s disease" was higher than "inflammatory bowel disease" and "ulcerative colitis" . The national wide trends of search volume for "inflammatory bowel disease" , "ulcerative colitis" and "Crohn′s disease" were similar, the search heat gradually decreased from the east coast to the northwest of China, which basically coincided with the three-level ladder trend of China′s economic development, suggesting that the level of economic development was related to the incidence of IBD. The results of Baidu index analysis showed that the main populations who searched IBD-related keywords were young adults and women aged from 20 to 39 years old. The results of WeChat index analysis revealed that the searching volume of "inflammatory bowel disease" , "ulcerative colitis" and "Crohn′s disease" were 205 000, 195 000 and 120 000, respectively, and the search volume for " inflammatory bowel disease" was the highest. The official account (90.27%) and the video account (7.43%) occupied the main sources of IBD-related information on mobile terminals. Conclusions:The IBD-associated internet activities reveal a global lack of public awareness of IBD. China also faces the same problem. The search trend is consistent with the epidemiology of IBD, which may be helpful for future epidemiological research of IBD in China. Mobile media will be a potential force in promoting the patient education and disease management of IBD in China.