Evaluation of interest trends among the general population and scientific community in migraine surgery.

BACKGROUND

Online search behavior reflects public curiosity, and Google Trends is increasingly used to assess interest in medical topics. Migraine surgery has emerged in recent decades as a promising option for patients with refractory headaches, drawing growing clinical and scientific attention.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze temporal trends in public interest in migraine surgery using Google Trends and compare them with scientific output indexed in PubMed.

METHODS

Worldwide Google Trends data for "Migraine Surgery" and "Headache Surgery" from 2004 to 2025 were aggregated annually. PubMed was searched for relevant publications in the same period. Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, and linear regression assessed associations between search interest and publication trends.

RESULTS

Searches for "Migraine Surgery" remained minimal until 2007, then increased steadily, for the remainder of the study period. PubMed publications began in 2010 and rose in parallel with public interest. For "Headache Surgery," online searches also increased after 2007, but publication numbers fluctuated, showing a weaker relationship. Spearman correlation was strong for "Migraine Surgery" (ρ = 0.904) and moderate for "Headache Surgery" (ρ = 0.490). Regression analysis confirmed these patterns: the model for "Migraine Surgery" was significant (F = 17.83, p < 0.001; R² = 0.48), whereas the model for "Headache Surgery" was not (F = 3.19, p = 0.090; R² = 0.14).

CONCLUSIONS

Public interest in migraine surgery closely parallels scientific activity, while the broader term "Headache Surgery" shows weaker associations, probably due to the less specific terminology. Integrating digital epidemiology with bibliometric analysis may help anticipate patient needs and guide healthcare planning.Level of evidence: V.