A cross-sectional content quality analysis of information in TikTok videos on “Dermarolling (Roller Microneedling)”

Abstract

Background: TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platform, and its short-form videos have become a widely used source of health information. “Dermarolling” is a form of roller microneedling often practiced at home, and patients may be using TikTok to inform their decision to pursue this treatment and their practice of it. Aims: This study assessed the informational content quality, source, and engagement of TikTok dermarolling videos to highlight potentially harmful social media trends. Methods: On a predetermined date, “dermarolling” was searched on TikTok. The top 75 results were screened. Number of views, creator type, type of video, and whether risks were discussed were recorded. Information quality was assessed using the DISCERN tool. The data were stratified by creator type, and statistical analysis was performed using R version 4.3.2. Median viewership and DISCERN scores were compared using Kruskal–Wallis tests with post hoc pairwise Wilcoxon tests. Fisher's exact test was used to compare rates of risk discussion between groups. Results: Sixty-one of the reviewed videos met the inclusion criteria. Influencer videos engaged the largest overall audience and had higher median viewership than other creators. Physicians, primarily dermatologists, created exclusively educational content and influencers created mostly experience-based content. Overall content quality was generally low-moderate, with a median (IQR) DISCERN score of 30.5 (26.5–33.5). Physician content had higher median DISCERN scores than influencers (p = 0.004) and others (p = 0.004). Physicians were more likely to discuss risks compared to influencers (p = 0.02). Conclusions: TikTok content on “dermarolling” was of relatively low quality, and nonphysicians command a large viewership. Physician-created content is often of higher informational quality, and dermatologists should escalate their efforts to engage patients in this space to mitigate the effects of potential misinformation.