Currently submitted to: JMIR Dermatology
Date Submitted: Feb 13, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 2, 2026 - Apr 27, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Psychodermatology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Google Trends Analysis in the United States (2018–2024)
ABSTRACT
Background:
Psychological stress is known to exacerbate dermatologic conditions such as acne, eczema, and compulsive skin behaviors. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a global stressor with widely-experienced psychosocial effects and potential impacts on skin health. This study analyzes U.S. public interest in stress-induced dermatologic conditions and psychodermatologic disorders with relevance to clinical dermatology practice during pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods.
Objective:
To evaluate longitudinal trends in U.S. public interest in stress-induced dermatologic and psychodermatologic conditions before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic using Google Trends data.
Methods:
Relative Google search volume (RSV) was used as a proxy for public interest, given the search engine’s 5 trillion annual searches.1 RSV for the terms "skin picking", "trichotillomania", "rash", "eczema", "dermatillomania", and "anxiety skin picking" from 2018 to 2024 was obtained through the Google Trends database. Monthly search interest was normalized and averaged across pre-pandemic (2018-2019), pandemic (2020-2022), and post-pandemic (2023-2024) time periods.
Results:
Search interest increased for “skin picking” and “eczema” from 2018 to 2024. “Trichotillomania” RSV increased at least 33.33% from January 2020 to March 2021 relative to 2018-2019. “Dermatillomania” RSV increased 156.41% from April to May 2021. “Anxiety skin picking” RSV increased during the pandemic (2020-2022), with the largest average month-over-month change of 4.99% compared to other search terms. No consistent trend was observed for “rash.”
Conclusions:
Public interest in stress-influenced dermatologic conditions increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting heightened interest or prevalence of psychodermatologic issues during prolonged stress. These findings highlight opportunities for dermatologists to integrate mental health screening and psychodermatologic considerations into routine clinical care, particularly during periods of widespread stress.
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