{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T21:47:33Z","timestamp":1791928053481,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"JMIR Publications Inc.","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JMIR Infodemiology"],"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n Background<\/jats:title>\n Vitreous floaters are a prevalent phenomenon, with some patients experiencing persistent symptoms that substantially degrade their vision. Public interest and information-seeking behavior regarding vitreous surgery are challenging to quantify using claims alone.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n The aim of this study is to evaluate temporal and geographic patterns of public interest in vitreous floaters and related interventions in the United States and to contextualize this interest relative to retina specialist availability.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n In this retrospective observational study, we queried Google Trends for search terms originating in the United States from 2008 to 2025. We extracted the relative search volume (RSV) using a composite of terms combined with the Google Trends \u201c+\u201d operator. State-level counts of vitreoretinal surgeons from the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) database were used to calculate surgeon density per 100,000 population. We calculated a search-to-surgeon index (SSI) as the ratio of state-level RSV to retina surgeon density to serve as an exploratory metric of public interest relative to specialist availability. We evaluated associations using the Mann-Kendall trend test, Sen slope, and Spearman correlation.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n From 2008 to 2025, nonsurgical RSV increased by 138%, demonstrating a significant temporal increasing trend (\n \u03c4<\/jats:italic>\n =0.600;\n P<\/jats:italic>\n <.001). States with a higher proportion of residents aged 40 years or older demonstrated higher RSV (\u03c1=0.51;\n P<\/jats:italic>\n <.01). The median SSI was 123 (IQR 100-127; range 48-311). Surgical RSV increased by 133% (\n \u03c4<\/jats:italic>\n =0.443;\n P<\/jats:italic>\n <.001). The median surgical SSI was 133 (IQR 107-164; range 34-341).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n This analysis demonstrates substantial geographic variability in public interest in vitreous floaters across the United States. Integrating Google Trends data with surgeon distribution provides an exploratory framework for evaluating relative interest in vitreoretinal care, though it does not directly measure clinical demand.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.2196\/94821","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T21:21:43Z","timestamp":1791926503000},"page":"e94821-e94821","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Online Information-Seeking Behavior Regarding Vitreous Floaters in the United States: Google Trends Analysis"],"prefix":"10.2196","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-3708-2700","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thanaphat","family":"Seeboonruang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-1471-288X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qais A","family":"Dihan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-7681-8405","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jamie L","family":"Surgent-Nahay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9735-7089","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad Z","family":"Chauhan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3713-6975","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahmed F","family":"Shakarchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7207-6782","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahmed B","family":"Sallam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1010","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]]},"reference":[{"issue":"3","key":"R1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"402","DOI":"10.3980\/j.issn.2222-3959.2013.03.27","article-title":"Prevalence of vitreous floaters in a community sample of smartphone users","volume":"6","author":"Webb","journal-title":"Int J Ophthalmol"},{"issue":"2","key":"R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"265","DOI":"10.1016\/j.survophthal.2024.10.001","article-title":"Vision degrading myodesopsia from vitreous floaters in the young: an important aspect of myopia","volume":"70","author":"Albrecht","journal-title":"Surv Ophthalmol"},{"issue":"10","key":"R3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"991","DOI":"10.1055\/a-2676-7455","article-title":"Investigating symptomatic vitreous opacities: an online survey and field of view reconstruction","volume":"242","author":"Lippek","journal-title":"Klin Monbl Augenheilkd"},{"issue":"1","key":"R4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s41687-025-00934-w","article-title":"The impact of vitreous floaters on quality of life: a qualitative study","volume":"9","author":"Woudstra-de Jong","journal-title":"J Patient Rep Outcomes"},{"issue":"12","key":"R5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1148","DOI":"10.1097\/j.jcrs.0000000000001736","article-title":"Demand for cataract surgery in the United States: Google Trends analysis","volume":"51","author":"Cheong","journal-title":"J Cataract Refract Surg"},{"issue":"4","key":"R6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"589","DOI":"10.1016\/s0886-3350(01)01104-x","article-title":"Floaterectomy: combined phacoemulsification and deep anterior vitrectomy","volume":"28","author":"Mossa","journal-title":"J Cataract Refract Surg"},{"issue":"1","key":"R7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.eye.6700026","article-title":"Nd:YAG vitreolysis and pars plana vitrectomy: surgical treatment for vitreous floaters","volume":"16","author":"Delaney","journal-title":"Eye (Lond)"},{"issue":"5","key":"R8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"645","DOI":"10.1038\/eye.2016.30","article-title":"Vitrectomy for primary symptomatic vitreous opacities: an evidence-based review","volume":"30","author":"Ivanova","journal-title":"Eye (Lond)"},{"key":"R9","unstructured":"Find a retina specialist. American Society of Retina Specialists. URL: https:\/\/www.asrs.org\/find-a-specialist [Accessed 02-03-2026]"},{"key":"R10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajo.2020.05.018","article-title":"National trends in the United States eye care workforce from 1995 to 2017","volume":"218","author":"Feng","journal-title":"Am J Ophthalmol"},{"key":"R11","unstructured":"State population by characteristics: 2020-2025. US Census Bureau. URL: https:\/\/www.census.gov\/data\/tables\/time-series\/demo\/popest\/2020s-state-detail.html [Accessed 02-09-2026]"},{"key":"R12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2147\/OPTH.S472064","article-title":"Geographic patterns of ocular oncologist supply and patient demand for uveal melanoma treatment in the United States: a supply and demand analysis","volume":"18","author":"Lieu","journal-title":"Clin Ophthalmol"},{"issue":"1","key":"R13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.1067\/j.cpradiol.2021.03.004","article-title":"Google Trends data of radiologists who accept Medicare: a potential tool for predicting state demand","volume":"51","author":"Doepker","journal-title":"Curr Probl Diagn Radiol"},{"issue":"9","key":"R14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"918","DOI":"10.1001\/jamaophthalmol.2017.2388","article-title":"YAG laser vitreolysis vs sham YAG vitreolysis for symptomatic vitreous floaters: a randomized clinical trial","volume":"135","author":"Shah","journal-title":"JAMA Ophthalmol"},{"key":"R15","author":"Stuart","journal-title":"EyeNet"},{"issue":"6","key":"R16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"604","DOI":"10.1080\/09286586.2021.2015394","article-title":"Impact of early COVID-19 pandemic on common ophthalmic procedures volumes: a US claims-based analysis","volume":"29","author":"Azad","journal-title":"Ophthalmic Epidemiol"},{"issue":"2","key":"R17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"196","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1748-0361.2010.00282.x","article-title":"Recruiting and retaining physicians in very rural areas","volume":"26","author":"Pepper","journal-title":"J Rural Health"},{"issue":"2","key":"R18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1001\/jamaophthalmol.2024.5605","article-title":"Geographic distribution of US ophthalmic surgical subspecialists","volume":"143","author":"Ahmed","journal-title":"JAMA Ophthalmol"}],"container-title":["JMIR Infodemiology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T21:21:49Z","timestamp":1791926509000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/infodemiology.jmir.org\/2026\/1\/e94821"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]]},"references-count":18,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2196\/94821","relation":{},"ISSN":["2564-1891"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2564-1891","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]]},"article-number":"v6i3e94821"}}