ArticleClinical rheumatology2026
Living for the 'gram: analysing the online footprint of lupus using a qualitative social media listening tool.
Article in Clinical rheumatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) significantly impacts patients' lives beyond the traditionally chased outcomes of mortality and organ damage. Increased access to social media has aided health information dissemination, but a gap remains between patient and physician perspectives. This study explores the online trends on SLE to identify the overall theme of community engagement.
methodsAn online social listening tool (Brand24) was utilised by two rheumatologists in this cross-sectional study to search for keywords related to lupus and diabetes. Data on reach, engagement, themes and sentiments were extracted over 3 months between June and September 2024. Ethical considerations were maintained by accessing public domain data, and thematic content analysis was performed.
resultsContent on SLE had an expectedly lower number of mentions compared to diabetes (85,662 vs 405,000), but with a substantial reach (289 million). User-generated content formed most of the lupus-related discussions online, and sentiment analysis revealed a higher proportion of positive connotations on SLE topics (21% vs 11%). Key themes in SLE were related to the burden of chronic illnesses and celebrity influences. Unsurprisingly, unverified sources of online content had a notable influence on the themes, too.
conclusionDespite the low prevalence, the online footprint of SLE is quite notable. Discussions and themes range from personal experience to online support. Celebrity voices and unverified sources can shape social media content. These findings highlight the need for healthcare professionals to think of social media strategies to minimise misinformation and provide credible guidance. Key Points • Mentions of lupus have a surprisingly strong online presence, more than its prevalence would suggest. • Celebrities and unverified sources often shape the online narrative on lupus. • The tone of lupus-related posts is more positive than expected, revealing patient identities centred around resilience and community.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41667894What 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.