Determination of global trends and popularity in dietary-related nootropic agents using Google Trends

Abstract

Background: The internet has become a primary source of nutrition-related information. Estimates show that global internet penetration has exceeded 50 per cent and 62 per cent of Americans with internet access use it to search for medical and health information (Marquis & Dubeau, 2006; Newstex, 2017). Nutrition has the potential to affect health in many different ways and the scientific literature demonstrating this relationship is constantly expanding. Hence, it is unsurprising that many people seek nutrition information online. As consumers become increasingly interested in the functionality of foods, it is expected that the popularity of food categories like nootropics will rise. Nootropics are defined as supplements, drugs and other substances that may enhance cognitive function, particularly memory, creativity or motivation, and hence have a functional property beyond that of basic nutrition (Suliman et al., 2016). Coffee and caffeine are well known products with a nootropic effect, that many adults consume daily (van Dam, Hu, & Willett, 2020). There is a multitude of evidence supporting a nootropic effect of foods like berries, both in their natural form and in the form of supplements or extracts. However, these aren’t as well documented to be consumed for their brain benefits. Google search data is proposed to be an effective means by which global interest in nootropics can be assessed. Aim: The aim of this research is to investigate the extent to which people are searching for nootropic agents globally, and to identify any regional and seasonal trends in searches for nootropic-related terms between the period of January 2004 to July 2020, as assessed by Google search data. Methods: Google Trends was used to assess interest over time and regional interest in dietary-related nootropic terms. Twelve terms were investigated in total. Three of those terms, caffeine, coffee and energy drinks, were used as benchmark terms. Worldwide data was collected for all search terms over the periods of 2004 to 2020 and 2019 to 2020, which allowed for the collection of the relative search volumes (RSV) over two different time periods for each term. Over the period of 2004 to 2020, worldwide data was collected comparing each search term with each benchmark term, using the Google Trends comparison tool. This allowed a comparison of the RSV of these terms in proportion to the benchmark terms. Finally, the RSV of each term was collected by country, over the period of 2004 to 2020. This allowed the identification of the top five countries that had been searching for each of these terms. Statistical analysis was deemed uninformative for this data set. Results: Caffeine and coffee saw far more interest than any other terms, suggesting that they are more popular than any new-aged nootropic product. However, it is clear that nootropics are generally increasing in popularity, as nine of the twelve terms saw an increase in interest over time. Three terms were found to be more popular or almost equally as popular as energy drinks, suggesting a move in popularity towards healthier cognitive-enhancing alternatives. There was a finite number of countries that appeared in the top five searchers over all terms. Eastern European and Central Asian countries were particularly interested in the term nootropic. Conclusion: Coffee and caffeine attract the largest public interest globally. Interest in nootropics appears to have grown over time. Google Trends holds great potential as a valuable tool for nutrition research.