ArticleKorean journal of family medicine2023
Content Analysis of YouTube Videos on the Effect of Vitamin C on Common Cold.
Article in Korean journal of family medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Quality and content evaluation of male HPV infection on Bilibili and TikTok: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Quality and Reliability of YouTube Videos Providing Nutritional Recommendations for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Article
- YouTube, Health Information, and Health Literacy.Korean journal of family medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWith the growth of the Internet, social media platforms have emerged as major sources of medical information. We assessed the reliability, quality, and accuracy of the most-viewed YouTube videos containing information on the effect of vitamin C on the common cold.
methodsThe YouTube videos were searched on August 1, 2022, using the keywords: ("ascorbic acid" OR "vitamin C" OR "Sodium Ascorbate" OR "L-ascorbic") AND "common cold". The 30 most-viewed videos were included in our study. The reliability and quality of the videos were analyzed using modified DISCERN and Global Quality Scales, respectively. When the videos included at least one correct or inaccurate scientific statement about the effect of vitamin C on the common cold, they were classified as accurate or misleading videos, respectively; those without any pertinent information were considered neither accurate nor misleading. If a video contained both accurate and inaccurate statements, it was classified as misleading.
resultsOf the 30 most-viewed videos, 73% were unreliable, and 67% contained misleading information and were of a poor quality. Of these 30 videos, 14 videos were produced and posted by customers who were not specialized in medicine or nutrition. Moreover, these videos were of significantly lower reliability, quality, and accuracy than those produced by nutrition or fitness channels or by medical or nutrition professionals.
conclusionThe reliability, quality, and accuracy of videos uploaded by non-professionals were low. Therefore, video creators should upload reliable, high-quality videos to ensure the dissemination of accurate medical information.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.