Impact on online research on celebrities’ uncommon diseases: the curious case of Justin Bieber and Ramsay Hunt syndrome

AIM: We investigated how to use Internet user searches to gauge the impact of a celebrity illness on global public interest. METHODS: The study design is cross-sectional. Data on Internet searches were obtained from Google Trends (GT) for the period between 2017–2022 using the search words “Ramsay Hunt syndrome” (RHS), “Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 2,” “Herpes zoster,” and “Justin Bieber.” The frequency of specific page views for “Ramsay Hunt syndrome,” “Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 1,” Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 2,” Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 3,” “Herpes zoster,” and “Justin Bieber” were collected via a Wikipedia analysis tool that shows the number of times a specific page is viewed. Statistical analyses were performed using the Pearson (r) and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rho). RESULTS: GT data, in 2022, show a strong correlation for Justin Bieber and RHS or RHS type 2 (r = 0.75); similarly, Wikipedia data show a strong correlation for Justin Bieber and the others explored terms (r > 0.75). Furthermore, the correlation was strong between GT and Wikipedia for RHS (rho = 0.89) and RHS type 2 (rho = 0.88). CONCLUSIONS: The peak search times for the GT and Wikipedia pages were during the same period. Useful new tools and analyses of Internet traffic data may be effective in assessing the impact of announced celebrity uncommon illnesses on global public interest.