Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37632896›Full record

ArticleJMIR dermatology2022

Evaluating the Public's Interest in Testicle Tanning: Observational Study.

Ryan Ottwell, Katherine Cox, Taylor Dobson, Muneeb Shah, Micah Hartwell

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR dermatology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Ryan OttwellDepartment of Dermatology, St Joseph Mercy Hospital - Livingston, Howell, MI, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6574-2844
Katherine CoxOklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1346-4667
Taylor DobsonSchool of Nursing, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9809-9245
Muneeb ShahOklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8493-5433
Micah HartwellOklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6810-6571

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA new and potentially dangerous health trend, testicle tanning, received extensive media attention following a popular television program where a health and fitness influencer touted that testicular tanning increases testosterone levels. It has been shown that the public has a particular interest in tanning wellness trends; thus, given the vague nomenclature of the practice, the abundance of misleading information and support for using UV light by other health influencers may lead to an increase in men exposing themselves to UV radiation and developing associated complications.

objectiveThe aim of this paper is to evaluate the public's interest in testicle tanning.

methodsRelative search interest was collected from Google Trends, and daily tweet volume was collected using Twitter via Sprout Social. The search was filtered to observe internet activity between February 1, 2022, and August 18, 2022. Autoregressive integrated moving average models were applied to forecast the predicted values through April 30 to compare to the actual observed values immediately following the airing of the show.

resultsWe found that the relative search interest for testicle tanning peaked (100) on April 19, 2022, following a discussion of the topic on a television program. Compared to the forecasted relative search interest of 1.36 (95% CI -3.29 to 6.01), had the topic not been discussed, it showed a 7252% increase in relative search interest. A similar spike was observed in the volume of tweets peaking on April 18 with 42,736. The expected number of tweets from the autoregressive integrated moving average model was 122 (95% CI -154 to 397), representing a 35,053% increase.

conclusionsOur results show that the promotion of testicle tanning generated significant public interest in an evidence-lacking and potentially dangerous health trend. Dermatologists and other health care professionals should be aware of these new viral health trends to best counsel patients and combat health misinformation.

Indexed as

cancergeneral dermatologygoogle trendsharmfulhealth trendsinternetpublic trendsskin cancertanningtesticle tanningUV radiation

Identifiers

PMID37632896
PMCPMC10334912

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.