ArticleDigital health
Do you have depression? A summative content analysis of mental health-related content on TikTok.
Article in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Telepsychology and digital mental health communication: an exploratory mixed-methods study of tikTok content.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Pooled it
- Sunscreen is overwhelmingly promoted on TikTok, but content with misinformation exhibits proportionally high levels of audience interaction.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Portrayals of Depression on TikTok: Content Analysis of Diagnostic Accuracy, Creator Type, and Stylistic Features.JMIR infodemiology · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a tool for detecting misinformation risk in diet, nutrition, and health content (Diet-MisRAT).Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The quality and reliability of short videos about depression on TikTok (Douyin): a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Effectiveness and Experiences of Online Mental Health Peer Support for Young People: Systematic Scoping Review.JMIR mental health · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: TikTok is a global social media platform with over 1 billion active users. Presently, there are few data on how TikTok users navigate the platform for mental health purposes and the content they view. Objective: This study aims to understand the patterns of mental health-related content on TikTok and assesses the accuracy and quality of the advice and information provided. Methods: We performed a summative content analysis on the top 1000 TikTok videos with the hashtag #mentalhealth between October 12 and 16, 2021. Six content themes were developed to code the data: (1) a personal story, perspective, or confessional, (2) advice and information, (3) emoting, (4) references to death, (5) references to science or research, and (6) a product or service for sale. Advice and information were further assessed by clinical experts. Results: A total of 970 mental health-related videos were pulled for our analysis ( Conclusion: Healthcare practitioners and researchers may consider increasing their presence on the platform to promote the dissemination of evidence-based information to a wider and more youth-targeted population. Interventions to reduce the amount of misinformation on the platform and increase people's ability to discern between anecdotal and evidence-based information are also warranted.
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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.