Daith piercing, a social media hype on YouTube for the treatment of migraine? A systematic video analysis of quality and reliability
Authors: Pradhan Saroj K. , Furian Michael , Todeschini Giada , Schürer Qiong , Wang Xiaying , Chen Bingjun , Li Yiming , Gantenbein Andreas R. 
Published: January 2025

Background

Nowadays, social media video-sharing website YouTube is globally accessible and used for sharing news and information. It also serves as a tool for migraine sufferers seeking guidance about Daith piercing as a potential migraine treatment; however, shared and disseminated video content is rarely regulated and does not follow evidence-based medicine.

Objective

To investigate the content, quality, and reliability of YouTube videos on Daith piercing for the treatment of migraine.

Methods

YouTube videos were systematically searched from the video portal inception until 17thJanuary 2024. “Daith piercing” AND “migraine” were the applied search terms. All video blogs reporting on Daith piercing for the treatment of migraine were included. The primary outcome of interest was assessing the Global Quality Scale and DISCERN implementing the five-point Likert scale (“very poor” to “excellent”) to evaluate each video blog’s quality, flow, and reliability. Secondary outcomes included the relapse time of migraine after Daith piercing, and further outcomes related to Daith piercing. This systematic video analysis was preregistered in PROSPERO (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/CRD42024510089).

Results

Out of 496 initially screened video recordings, 246 videos were included in the final analysis (N=69 categorized asPersonal Experience; N=176 asOthers,defined as videos from bloogers, piercers or other persons not affected by migraine; and N=1 asHealthcare Professionals). Overall, these videos collectively gathered 67783 likes and received 4.68 million views. The Global Quality Scale rating in the categoryPersonal Experiencerevealed that the quality of 50.7% of videos was very poor; 29.0% poor; 11.6% moderate and 8.7% good. In the categoryOthers, Global Quality Scale rating showed that the quality of 60.8% of videos was very poor; 25.6% poor; 11.9% moderate and 1.7% good (P<0.05 compared to the proportion of good quality videos in the categoryPersonal Experiencequality). The one video in the categoryHealthcare Professionalswas rated “poor quality”. Ratings applying the DISCERN tool were comparable. Overall, 111 (45.1%) videos recommended and 14 (5.7%) discouraged Daith piercing for migraine relief.

Conclusion

Based on the Global Quality Scale and DISCERN scores, the information, usefulness, and accuracy of most YouTube content on Daith Piercing for migraine treatment are generally of poor quality and reliability. The lack of high-quality and reliable videos might expose users to potentially misleading information and the dissemination of unproven medical interventions.

Plain Language Summary

This systematic video analysis evaluated the quality and reliability of 246 YouTube videos on Daith piercing as a migraine treatment, accessing the DISCERN instrument and the Global Quality Scale tool. The analysis revealed that most videos were anecdotal, lacked input from healthcare professionals, and demonstrated poor quality and reliability. These findings highlight that YouTube is not a reliable source for medical information on Daith piercing for migraine treatment, underscoring the importance of consulting physicians and referencing peer-reviewed research for well-informed decision-making.