Social Media Listening and Digital Profiling Study of People With Headache and Migraine: Retrospective Infodemiology Study

BACKGROUND: There is an unmet need for a better understanding and management of headache, particularly migraine, beyond specialist centers, which may be facilitated using digital technology. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify where, when, and how people with headache and migraine describe their symptoms and the nonpharmaceutical and medicinal treatments used as indicated on social media. METHODS: Social media sources, including Twitter, web-based forums, blogs, YouTube, and review sites, were searched using a predefined search string related to headache and migraine. The real-time data from social media posts were collected retrospectively for a 1-year period from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018 (Japan), or a 2-year period from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018 (Germany and France). The data were analyzed after collection, using content analysis and audience profiling. RESULTS: A total of 3,509,828 social media posts related to headache and migraine were obtained from Japan in 1 year and 146,257 and 306,787 posts from Germany and France, respectively, in 2 years. Among social media sites, Twitter was the most used platform across these countries. Japanese sufferers used specific terminology, such as “tension headaches” or “cluster headaches” (36%), whereas French sufferers even mentioned specific migraine types, such as ocular (7%) and aura (2%). The most detailed posts on headache or migraine were from Germany. The French sufferers explicitly mentioned “headache or migraine attacks” in the “evening (41%) or morning (38%),” whereas Japanese mentioned “morning (48%) or night (27%)” and German sufferers mentioned “evening (22%) or night (41%).” The use of “generic terms” such as medicine, tablet, and pill were prevalent. The most discussed drugs were ibuprofen and naproxen combination (43%) in Japan; ibuprofen (29%) in Germany; and acetylsalicylic acid, paracetamol, and caffeine combination (75%) in France. The top 3 nonpharmaceutical treatments are hydration, caffeinated beverages, and relaxation methods. Of the sufferers, 44% were between 18 and 24 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: In this digital era, social media listening studies present an opportunity to provide unguided, self-reported, sufferers’ perceptions in the real world. The generation of social media evidence requires appropriate methodology to translate data into scientific information and relevant medical insights. This social media listening study showed country-specific differences in headache and migraine symptoms experienced and in the times of the day and treatments used. Furthermore, this study highlighted the prevalence of social media usage by younger sufferers compared to that by older sufferers.