(150) GOOGLE TRENDS: TEMPORAL INTEREST IN MALE PENILE ENHANCEMENT AND ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN MEDIAN INCOME, LITERACY RATES, AND GEOGRAPHIC INTEREST
Authors: Morrison C , Lutchka J , Richard C , Nelson A , Moser A , Liaw A 
Published: December 2024

Introduction

Dermal fillers such as hyaluronic acid (HA) or polylactic acid are seeing recent use in penile enhancement. These have been implicated to cause severe complications requiring urologic reconstructive intervention. Little work has been done to assess the general public’s interest in penile enhancement procedures such as these.

Objective

We sought to characterize temporal trends in search interest related to both general and specific penile enhancement with the use of Google Trends. Secondly, we characterized search interest based on geographic data and correlated our findings with state-wide average median income and literacy rates.

Methods

Google Trends was used to extract monthly search volume for 22 terms related to male penile enhancement in the United States between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2022. Terms were characterized as specific (to penile injections) or generalized (any male enhancement method). Of the 22 terms included, 9 terms provided geographic search data for &gt;10 states. For each search term, the top 3 and bottom 3 rank order was assigned based on a point system. States appearing in either the top or bottom 3 for one or more search term were ordered based on cumulative points and listed accordingly. State-wide yearly median income was collected from the US Census Bureau and averaged over the length of the study period. State-wide literacy rates were collected from the National Center of Educational Statistics and compared to the national average. Search terms were divided into “specific” (n = 10) and “general” (n = 12) categories. Overall trend was observed with a line of best fit. Overall average search volumes for specific and general search terms across the 10-year period was determined using GT data for the respective categories. Relative search volumes for each month over the 10-year period were then averaged within the two categories. Percent changes from the 10-year average were calculated.

Results

Specific terms showed an increase in proportional volume, with a line of best fit slope of 0.07, while general terms showed a decrease in proportional volume, with a line of best fit slope of -0.22 (fig. 1). States most frequently in the top 3 (Mississippi (42 k), Louisiana (48 k), and Alabama (50 k)) had average 10-year median income below the national median income of 63 k. Literacy rates were 252, 252, and 259, respectively compared to the national average of 264 (Fig. 2). Conversely, states infrequently in the top 3 (Oregon (68 k), Pennsylvania (64 k), and Massachusetts (78 k)) had median incomes slightly higher than the national median income. Literacy rates were 273, 266, and 273, respectively compared to the national average of 264 (Fig. 2).

Conclusions

Google Trends shows a rising interest in specific terms such as penile injections, whereas generalized interest in penile enhancement has shown a decline in interest. States with higher rates of online interest in penile enhancement often have a median income and literacy rates below the national average. Urologists should be aware of the rising interest in and promotion of specific procedures that may be of harm to their patient populations.

Disclosure

No.