The de-alzheimerisation of dementia? An analysis of internet searches

Abstract

Purpose: Alzheimer’s disease is often seen by the public as synonymous with dementia but this may have changed in recent years. Methods: We used Google Trends to examine the relative volume of internet searches from 2004 to July 2017 for the terms ‘dementia’ and ‘Alzheimer’ in English-speaking countries. For each country, a linear regression model was fitted for each search term and the slopes of the lines were compared. Results: The slopes (standard error) for ‘dementia’ and ‘Alzheimer’, respectively, were: Australia—0.26 (0.02) and – 001 (0.002); Canada—0.23 (0.01) and 0.004 (0.01); Ireland: 0.33 (0.02) and − 0.04 (0.01); United Kingdom—0.36 (0.01) and 0.01 (0.001); and United States—0.23 (0.01) and − 0.01 (0.004). Differences between slopes were all significant at p < 0.001. Conclusions: In all countries, there was a large increase over time in relative search volumes for ‘dementia’ and a flat or negative trend in searches for ‘Alzheimer’.