UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC INTEREST IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE FOR TARGETED PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES

Introduction:

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant global health issue affecting 850 million people worldwide. As a progressive disease, CKD can lead to severe complications, including end-stage renal disease, which often requires dialysis or kidney transplantation. CKD requires ongoing public awareness to ensure the effective promotion of preventive and treatment strategies. Understanding public interest through online search behaviors can help identify gaps in awareness and inform targeted public health initiatives. This study explores global and U.S. trends in public interest in CKD using Google Trends™ data, with the aim of guiding strategies to enhance disease prevention and management.

Methods:

A Google Trends™ analysis was conducted for the search term "chronic kidney disease" spanning from 2004 to September 2024. Data were extracted for worldwide interest and the United States. Search interest was indexed on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 represents the highest relative interest recording during the period and 0 indicates no measurable search interest.

Results:

Throughout the period, search interest in CKD steadily increased both globally and within the U.S., although fluctuations were observed annually (Figure 1A). Asia and Africa show the highest interest in CKD (Figure 1B). In Asia, the Philippines leads with a relative interest of 100, while in Africa, Ethiopia (65) and Ghana (58) show significant attention to CKD. Multiple other Asian countries, such as Sri Lanka (40), Nepal (34), Malaysia (26), and Singapore (20), also demonstrate high interest in this chronic condition. While North America and Europe have lower scores, with the United States (38) and the United Kingdom (24) showing the most interest, the interest in CKD seems much less prevalent in South America and Oceania, where the scores are considerably lower overall. The top 5 U.S. regions with the highest interest were South Dakota (100), Alabama (100), Tennessee (100), Mississippi (97), and West Virginia (92). In contrast, lowest interest was observed in New Jersey (57), Oregon (57), Utah (56), Colorado (53), and District of Columbia (43) (Figure 1C). 

Conclusions:

This study highlights significantly steady increase in public interest in chronic kidney disease, both globally and within the United States. These findings also indicate regional health disparities, higher disease prevalence, lack of healthcare access, and lower digital knowledge. Even though, understanding these trends is crucial for identifying areas where public awareness is lacking, which in turn can help to tailor and target preventive and treatment strategies more effectively. Public health campaigns should focus on these key areas, utilizing digital platforms and ensuring accessible, readable information for all populations.

I have no potential conflict of interest to disclose.

I did not use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process.