Currently submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Mar 25, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 25, 2025 - May 20, 2025
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Overdose-Related Trends in Online Search Behavior in Japan: An Analysis Using Infodemiological Methods
ABSTRACT
Overdoses of medications, including over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription drugs, have increased in Japan, with digital platforms contributing to inappropriate use patterns. This study analyzed overdose-related online search trends by using data from Yahoo! JAPAN between 2020 and 2024. Search volume for “overdose” increased approximately fivefold, from 89,800 in 2020 to 240,000 in 2024. Female individuals accounted for 52.67%-72.11% of the users who conducted overdose-related searches. The most frequently searched medication class (36.6%) in the context of overdose was benzodiazepines. Furthermore, compounds contained in OTC drugs accounted for approximately 11.8% of all medication-related searches. These findings reveal a concerning trend in medication overdose risk in Japan and underscore the importance of developing targeted prevention strategies based on the digital surveillance of online search patterns.
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