A 15-Year Analysis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Africa Using Google Trends

Abstract Background There is little to no evidence on the status of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Africa. Due to a lack of epidemiological data for the disease on the continent, alternative methods are necessary to gather information data on IBD. Google Trends has been used to study specific diseases and symptoms through an epidemiological lens, and knowledge of its capabilities continues to expand in the healthcare field. Objective The aim of this study was to analyze 15-years of the IBD Search Interest throughout Africa to characterize the rapidly increasing interest in IBD across the continent with the least amount of recorded epidemiological data worldwide. Methods Using the Google Trends platform, we investigated search data for three topics, “Inflammatory bowel disease (Condition),” “Crohn’s Disease (CD; Disease),” and “Ulcerative colitis (UC; Disease),” as well as the 2023 associated Top Topics and Rising Topics in all African countries with available data between the years 2009 and 2023. Results We found a marked increase in search interest for IBD within every African country where data were available over the last 15 years. The interest was related to both UC and CD, with some differences between countries. Up to 75% of the most frequent Top Topics searched for with IBD were categorized as symptom- or diagnosis-related. The Top Topics varied across the continent and were of rising frequency in the latest year (2022 to 2023). Central African countries had the most limited searches on topics related to IBD. Conclusion There is a lack of high-quality prevalence and incidence data for IBD in Africa. However, using Google Trends we identify a growing interest in IBD and its disease subtypes across the continent over the last 15 years. Additional observational studies are required to assess how closely these data reflect real-world disease patterns.