Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jan 31, 2025
Date Accepted: Aug 21, 2025
Association between Alcohol and Psoriasis: An Exploratory Analysis of Crowdsourced Web Search Data in Sweden
ABSTRACT
Background:
The nature of the relationship between psoriasis and alcohol consumption has been the topic of discussion for many years. Some studies have found that a higher intake of alcohol may be associated with a more severe manifestation of the disease, which is unusual compared to other skin diseases.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to employ Google Trends as a tool for crowdsourcing data on a national level to explore the relationship between skin diseases such as Psoriasis and the consumption of alcohol.
Methods:
The present study examined crowdsourced web search data related to psoriasis and other skin disease-related search terms as well as public interest in different types of alcohol. It covered a five-year period from 2018 to 2023 in Sweden, and analysed search behaviour and correlations across this period.
Results:
The search behaviour regarding psoriasis and alcohol-related search terms showed seasonal variations throughout the year. Our statistical analysis revealed relationships between the search interest regarding psoriasis and terms related to alcohol consumption, with disparities between different types of alcohol.
Conclusions:
Crowdsourced data is a valuable tool in public health investigations. Further research is warranted to understand the relationship between psoriasis and different types of alcohol. Clinical Trial: n.a.
Citation
Per the author's request the PDF is not available.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.