ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2020
Googling for Ticks and Borreliosis in Germany: Nationwide Google Search Analysis From 2015 to 2018.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vitiligo in the Digital Spotlight: Retrospective Longitudinal Study in Germany.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Analyzing Asian Trends in Ocular Cosmetic Surgery Through Internet Search Patterns.Aesthetic plastic surgery · 2025Article
- Mismatched online public concern and tick-borne disease risk in China.Science in One Health · 2025Article
- Exploring the Thoughts, Needs and Fears of Chemotherapy Patients-An Analysis Based on Google Search Behavior.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Leveraging machine learning approaches for predicting potential Lyme disease cases and incidence rates in the United States using Twitter.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2023Article
- Identifying Potential Lyme Disease Cases Using Self-Reported Worldwide Tweets: Deep Learning Modeling Approach Enhanced With Sentimental Words Through Emojis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Tick-Bite "Meteo"-Prevention: An Evaluation of Public Responsiveness to Tick Activity Forecasts Available Online.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Improving Surveillance of Human Tick-Borne Disease Risks: Spatial Analysis Using Multimodal Databases.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2023Article
- Analyzing web searches for axial spondyloarthritis in Germany: a novel approach to exploring interests and unmet needs.Rheumatology international · 2023Article
- Assessing the national burden of allergic asthma by web-search data, pollen counts, and drug prescriptions in Germany and Sweden.The World Allergy Organization journal · 2023Article
- Monitoring disease activity of pollen allergies: What crowdsourced data are telling us.The World Allergy Organization journal · 2022Article
- Worldwide Evolution of Vaccinable and Nonvaccinable Viral Skin Infections: Google Trends Analysis.JMIR dermatology · 2022Article
- The national burden of scabies in Germany: a population-based approach using Internet search engine data.Infection · 2022Article
- [Atopic dermatitis-identifying needs in the German population by internet search queries].Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift fur Dermatologie, Venerologie, und verwandte Gebiete · 2022Article
- Tick bites in different professions and regions: pooled cross-sectional study in the focus area Bavaria, Germany.BMC public health · 2022Article
- An assessment of canine ectoparasiticide administration compliance in the USA.Parasites & vectors · 2022Article
- [Web search data as health data? : Geographic differences, temporal trends, and topics of interest from internet search engine analyses in Germany].Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift fur Dermatologie, Venerologie, und verwandte Gebiete · 2022Review
- Epidemiologic evolution of common cutaneous infestations and arthropod bites: A Google Trends analysis.JAAD international · 2021Article
- Leveraging internet search data to assess prevalence, interest, and unmet needs of sarcoidosis in Germany.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Interest in Sexually Transmitted Infections: Analysis of Web Search Data Terms in Eleven Large German Cities from 2015 to 2019.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBorreliosis is the most frequently transmitted tick-borne disease in Europe. It is difficult to estimate the incidence of tick bites and associated diseases in the German population due to the lack of an obligation to register across all 16 federal states of Germany.
objectiveThe aim of this study is to show that Google data can be used to generate general trends of infectious diseases on the basis of borreliosis and tick bites. In addition, the possibility of using Google AdWord data to estimate incidences of infectious diseases, where there is inconsistency in the obligation to notify authorities, is investigated with the perspective to facilitate public health studies.
methodsGoogle AdWords Keyword Planner was used to identify search terms related to ticks and borreliosis in Germany from January 2015 to December 2018. The search volume data from the identified search terms was assessed using Excel version 15.23. In addition, SPSS version 24.0 was used to calculate the correlation between search volumes, registered cases, and temperature.
resultsA total of 1999 tick-related and 542 borreliosis-related search terms were identified, with a total of 209,679,640 Google searches in all 16 German federal states in the period under review. The analysis showed a high correlation between temperature and borreliosis (r=0.88), and temperature and tick bite (r=0.83), and a very high correlation between borreliosis and tick bite (r=0.94). Furthermore, a high to very high correlation between Google searches and registered cases in each federal state was observed (Brandenburg r=0.80, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania r= 0.77, Saxony r= 0.74, and Saxony-Anhalt r=0.90; all P<.001).
conclusionsOur study provides insight into annual trends concerning interest in ticks and borreliosis that are relevant to the German population exemplary in the data of a large internet search engine. Public health studies collecting incidence data may benefit from the results indicating a significant correlation between internet search data and incidences of infectious diseases.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.