Physicians should ‘remain vigilant,’ warn about PCOS misinformation on TikTok
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Key takeaways:
- TikTok contains little verified information about the signs and symptoms of PCOS.
- Fewer than 4% of the top-viewed PCOS videos on TikTok were created by health care professionals.
DENVER — The top-viewed TikTok videos about polycystic ovary syndrome often contain unreliable or misleading medical information, with fewer than 4% of videos created by physicians or other medical professionals, data show.
In an analysis of the top 100 PCOS videos across TikTok, researchers also found that videos specifically identified as #PCOSEducation were no better than videos with other PCOS hashtags regarding content quality or bias, Sarah Hitt, BA, BS, a medical student at Mercer University School of Medicine in Savannah, Georgia, said during a moderated poster presentation at the ASRM Scientific Congress & Expo.
“As medical students, we are typically the age of people who are using TikTok the most,” Hitt told Healio. “We could see significant misinformation across this app related to health care information. For people who may not be as educated [about PCOS], this is where they often get their information. This is a big area for improvement.”
Hitt and colleagues reviewed the top 100 most viewed videos on TikTok that used the hashtags #PCOS, #PCOSAwareness and #PCOSEducation. Reviewers answered a post-video survey to assess 12 data points on the content, creator and quality of each video. Researchers then used a modified standardized DISCERN scale to evaluate the videos for bias, understandability and actionability, and assessed the differences among content creators and content by hashtag.
Among the 100 videos, creators were mostly women (94.5%) and about three-quarters (73.7%) were non-health care professionals. Only 3.8% of creators were MDs, physician assistants or nurse practitioners.
“Most videos were made by people with no true health care expertise,” Hitt told Healio.
Sixty-one percent of videos referenced personal experience, 21.6% discussed medical education, 9.1% reflected creator opinion and 6% referenced other topics related to PCOS.
Of the medical education videos, the overall 5-point DISCERN average was 2.88, meaning there were potentially important shortcomings in the quality and information presented in the videos, according to the researchers.
Hitt said videos with the hashtag #PCOSEducationwere had better overall quality as a source of information about PCOS and were the most unbiased.
Hitt said physicians should remain vigilant for PCOS information that is available via social media channels so they can have a thorough discussion with patients.
“This highlights the need for physicians to get on social media as much as they can and consider creating videos with quality educational content,” Hitt told Healio. “Patients need to be cautious when searching for health care information on TikTok. Social media can be good to create awareness, but the information found there should not be taken for face value. Patients often get frustrated, which is valid, but PCOS affects each woman differently, so [patients] should bring their questions to their physician.”