Trends in Web Searches About the Causes and Treatments of Autism Over the Past 15 Years: Exploratory Infodemiology Study

摘要

Ninety percent of adults in the United States use the internet, and the majority of internet users report looking on the web for health information using search engines. The rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), uncertainty surrounding its etiology, and variety of intervention approaches contribute to questions about its causes and treatments. It is not known which terms people search most frequently about ASD and whether web search queries have changed over time. Infodemiology is an area of health informatics research using big data analytics to understand web search behavior.