The association between interest of nutritional supplements and COVID-19 pandemic - evidence from Google Trends
Abstract Background Due to the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, the interest of nutritional supplements has emerged. Limited data are available on how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the search interest in nutritional supplements in Taiwan and worldwide. The study ai...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17607-2 |
| _version_ | 1797362792456519680 |
|---|---|
| author | Li-Yin Lin Atina Husnayain Yi-Tui Chen Chao-Yang Kuo |
| author_facet | Li-Yin Lin Atina Husnayain Yi-Tui Chen Chao-Yang Kuo |
| author_sort | Li-Yin Lin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Due to the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, the interest of nutritional supplements has emerged. Limited data are available on how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the search interest in nutritional supplements in Taiwan and worldwide. The study aims to investigate changes in public search interest of nutritional supplements pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Our World in Data dataset was used to collect both global and local (Taiwan) number of COVID-19 newly confirmed cases and deaths. Google Trends search query was being used to obtain relative search volumes (RSVs) covering a timeframe between 2019 to 2022. Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficients were used to measure relationships between confirmed new cases and deaths and RSVs of nutritional supplements. Multivariate analysis was conducted to examine the effect of domestic and global new cases and deaths on the RSVs of nutritional supplements. Results The mean RSVs for nutritional supplements were higher during the COVID-19 pandemic period (between 2020 to 2022) compared to the pre-pandemic period (year of 2019) for both Taiwan and worldwide. In terms of seasonal variations, except for vitamin D, the mean RSVs of probiotics, vitamin B complex, and vitamin C in winter were significantly lower compared to other seasons in Taiwan. The RSVs of nutritional supplements were not only affected by domestic cases and deaths but also by global new cases and deaths. Conclusions The interests in nutritional supplements had substantially increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The RSVs of nutritional supplements in Taiwan were not only influenced by global and domestic pandemic severity but also by seasons. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:12:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9dcbe351b6634fc8a1d451278b9d7db7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:12:32Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-9dcbe351b6634fc8a1d451278b9d7db72024-01-07T12:52:02ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582024-01-0124111210.1186/s12889-023-17607-2The association between interest of nutritional supplements and COVID-19 pandemic - evidence from Google TrendsLi-Yin Lin0Atina Husnayain1Yi-Tui Chen2Chao-Yang Kuo3Department of Leisure Industry and Health Promotion, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health SciencesDepartment of Public Health, Monash UniversitySmart Healthcare Interdisciplinary College, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health SciencesSmart Healthcare Interdisciplinary College, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health SciencesAbstract Background Due to the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, the interest of nutritional supplements has emerged. Limited data are available on how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the search interest in nutritional supplements in Taiwan and worldwide. The study aims to investigate changes in public search interest of nutritional supplements pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Our World in Data dataset was used to collect both global and local (Taiwan) number of COVID-19 newly confirmed cases and deaths. Google Trends search query was being used to obtain relative search volumes (RSVs) covering a timeframe between 2019 to 2022. Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficients were used to measure relationships between confirmed new cases and deaths and RSVs of nutritional supplements. Multivariate analysis was conducted to examine the effect of domestic and global new cases and deaths on the RSVs of nutritional supplements. Results The mean RSVs for nutritional supplements were higher during the COVID-19 pandemic period (between 2020 to 2022) compared to the pre-pandemic period (year of 2019) for both Taiwan and worldwide. In terms of seasonal variations, except for vitamin D, the mean RSVs of probiotics, vitamin B complex, and vitamin C in winter were significantly lower compared to other seasons in Taiwan. The RSVs of nutritional supplements were not only affected by domestic cases and deaths but also by global new cases and deaths. Conclusions The interests in nutritional supplements had substantially increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The RSVs of nutritional supplements in Taiwan were not only influenced by global and domestic pandemic severity but also by seasons.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17607-2Google TrendsNutritional supplementsRelative search volumesCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | Li-Yin Lin Atina Husnayain Yi-Tui Chen Chao-Yang Kuo The association between interest of nutritional supplements and COVID-19 pandemic - evidence from Google Trends BMC Public Health Google Trends Nutritional supplements Relative search volumes COVID-19 |
| title | The association between interest of nutritional supplements and COVID-19 pandemic - evidence from Google Trends |
| title_full | The association between interest of nutritional supplements and COVID-19 pandemic - evidence from Google Trends |
| title_fullStr | The association between interest of nutritional supplements and COVID-19 pandemic - evidence from Google Trends |
| title_full_unstemmed | The association between interest of nutritional supplements and COVID-19 pandemic - evidence from Google Trends |
| title_short | The association between interest of nutritional supplements and COVID-19 pandemic - evidence from Google Trends |
| title_sort | association between interest of nutritional supplements and covid 19 pandemic evidence from google trends |
| topic | Google Trends Nutritional supplements Relative search volumes COVID-19 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17607-2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT liyinlin theassociationbetweeninterestofnutritionalsupplementsandcovid19pandemicevidencefromgoogletrends AT atinahusnayain theassociationbetweeninterestofnutritionalsupplementsandcovid19pandemicevidencefromgoogletrends AT yituichen theassociationbetweeninterestofnutritionalsupplementsandcovid19pandemicevidencefromgoogletrends AT chaoyangkuo theassociationbetweeninterestofnutritionalsupplementsandcovid19pandemicevidencefromgoogletrends AT liyinlin associationbetweeninterestofnutritionalsupplementsandcovid19pandemicevidencefromgoogletrends AT atinahusnayain associationbetweeninterestofnutritionalsupplementsandcovid19pandemicevidencefromgoogletrends AT yituichen associationbetweeninterestofnutritionalsupplementsandcovid19pandemicevidencefromgoogletrends AT chaoyangkuo associationbetweeninterestofnutritionalsupplementsandcovid19pandemicevidencefromgoogletrends |