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Public Interest in Breast Augmentation: Analysis and Implications of Google Trends Data

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  • Breast Surgery
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Abstract

Introduction

Breast augmentation is the most common aesthetic surgery performed in the United States (US) annually. Analysis of Google Trends (GT) data may give plastic surgeons useful information regarding worldwide, national, and regional interest for breast augmentation and other commonly performed aesthetic surgeries.

Methods

Data were collected using GT for breast augmentation and associated search terms from January 2004 to May 2017. Case volume was obtained from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) annual reports for the calendar year 2005–2016.

Results

Trend analysis showed that total search term volume for breast augmentation and breast implants gradually decreased worldwide and in the US over the study period while the search term boob job slowly increased. Univariate linear regression demonstrated a statistically significant positive correlation between average annual Google search volume of “breast augmentation” and the annual volume of breast augmentations performed in the US according to ASPS data (R 2 = 0.44, p = 0.018). There was no significant correlation between national volume of breast augmentations performed and search volume using the terms “breast implants” or “boob job” over time (p = 0.84 and p = 0.07, respectively). In addition, there appears to be country specific variation in interest based on time of year and peaks in interest following specific policies.

Conclusions

To our knowledge, this is the first and only analysis of GT data in the plastic surgery literature to date. To that end, this study highlights this large and potentially powerful data set for plastic surgeons both in the US and around the world.

Level of Evidence V

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

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Fig. 1

Data source: Google Trends (www.google.com/trends)

Fig. 2

Data source: Google Trends (www.google.com/trends)

Fig. 3

Data source: Google Trends (www.google.com/trends)

Fig. 4

Data source: Google Trends (www.google.com/trends)

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Author notes

  1. Stelios C. Wilson and David A. Daar have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, New York University School of Medicine, 305 East 33rd St. Lower Level, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Stelios C. Wilson & David A. Daar

  2. Private Practice, TLKM Plastic Surgery, 737 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite #1500, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Sammy Sinno

  3. Private Practice, Baker Levine Plastic Surgery, 630 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Steven M. Levine

Authors
  1. Stelios C. Wilson
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  2. David A. Daar
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  4. Steven M. Levine
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stelios C. Wilson.

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The authors have no financial interest to declare in relation to the content of this work.

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Wilson, S.C., Daar, D.A., Sinno, S. et al. Public Interest in Breast Augmentation: Analysis and Implications of Google Trends Data. Aesth Plast Surg 42, 648–655 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-017-1038-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-017-1038-1

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