Trends in Online Search for Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - is Pain a Hot Topic?

Assessing the relative importance among different multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms could guide the efficient allocation of health care resources. We aimed to evaluate the trends in web search behavior worldwide regarding MS symptoms, by querying Google Trends using search terms related to MS symptoms. The popularity of those symptoms was evaluated worldwide from 16/April/2017 through 3/April/2022. A comparison of all search terms revealed that “multiple sclerosis” pain displayed by far the highest relative search volume. Prompt screening and evidence-based interventions are necessary to evaluate pain and optimize quality of life in MS patients.