Online interest in interstitial lung diseases much lower than lung cancer

Although both interstitial lung diseases (ILD) and lung cancers are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, there is a greater online interest in lung cancer compared with ILDs, according to a study analyzing Google Trends data.

The study authors speculate that the interest in lung cancer is likely due to lung cancer awareness campaigns and the implementation of lung cancer screening protocols while diagnosing ILD remains challenging and may limit a patient’s ability to perform their own research for information.

The incidence of ILD is increasing with approximately 65,4 841 cases diagnosed and 21, 505 deaths in the USA in 2019.

Reference
Jeganathan N, Nagori EK, Sathananthan M. Assessing population interest in interstitial lung diseases in the USA using Google Trends. ERJ Open Res. 2022;8(2):00092-2022. doi: 10.1183/23120541.00092-2022. PMID: 35677397; PMCID: PMC9168080.