Quality and reliability of sarcopenia-related videos on BiliBili and TikTok: a cross-sectional content analysis study.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the prevalence of sarcopenia has risen, frequently arising as a complication of other diseases and contributing to poor prognoses. Nonetheless, public awareness of this condition remains limited. Concurrently, video platforms such as BiliBili and TikTok, which reach billions of users worldwide, have become major channels for disseminating and accessing health information. This study systematically evaluates the quality and reliability of sarcopenia-related short videos on these two platforms and underscores the public health significance of this content.

METHODS

We conducted searches on October 3, 2025, using the keyword “sarcopenia” on the video-sharing platforms BiliBili and TikTok, ultimately collecting 256 relevant videos. After extracting basic information, we assessed the quality and reliability of each video using the Global Quality Score (GQS) for general quality and the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) instrument for informational reliability.

RESULTS

Compared to BiliBili, TikTok showed significantly higher engagement metrics for likes, comments, shares, and views (all p* < 0.05, with rank-biserial r effect sizes ranging from − 0.40 to -0.53), whereas no significant difference was observed for favorites (p* = 0.168, rank-biserial r = -0.10). The median (interquartile range) of GQS and mDISCERN scores were both 3.00 (2.00–3.00) on BiliBili, while 3.00 (3.00–4.00) and 4.00 (3.00–4.00) on TikTok. Moreover, it was observed that videos from physicians in related fields and patient-shared videos both scored highly on TikTok; however, patient videos were very few (n = 3), so this difference is not generalizable. Spearman correlation analysis revealed no significant correlation between video variables and the scores of GQS and mDISCERN.

CONCLUSION

Videos on the TikTok platform are of higher quality and reliability, and also exhibit stronger engagement. Moreover, videos uploaded by medical professionals generally have better quality than those from other sources, but they account for a low percentage. People should exercise caution when perusing videos about sarcopenia.