Gulf social media study finds varied migraine discussions, not treatment…

BACKGROUND: Migraine is a common neurological disorder that affects a significant proportion of the global population but remains largely underdiagnosed and undertreated. This study analyzed discussions related to migraines in English and Arabic across Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and Qatar. OBJECTIVE: Social media listening may help to identify gaps in migraine management and guide the development of strategies to address them. This study aims to analyze discussions related to migraines in both English and Arabic across various social media platforms. By applying social analytics to the bilingual discourse on migraines in the Gulf region, a region that is often underrepresented, we seek to integrate clinical perspectives with regional digital conversations and identify potential gaps in awareness and care pathways. METHODS: The study was conducted using a retrospective and descriptive approach to social analytics. The study analyzed discussions about migraines from over 100 million websites in English and Arabic across Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Oman, and Qatar between January 1, 2018, and June 30, 2022. Vendor-implemented, rule-based processes, including keyword matching, language identification, and structured data extraction, were used to evaluate publicly available content in English and Arabic. RESULTS: Out of 53,000 mentions, 33,920 (64%) occurred on X (formerly Twitter), and men were 1.1 times more likely to discuss migraines than women. Among patient conversations, the impact of migraines on overall health was often discussed, including mentions of pregnancy 1060 (2%), vision problems 1325 (2.5%), and sleep disruption 1590 (3%). Medications like paracetamol, aspirin, ibuprofen, and triptans were frequently mentioned, alongside self-management treatments such as cannabidiol softgels, cupping, and aroma oils. Patients often used TikTok to share experiences and seek advice. Many patients actively sought to connect and engage with other migraine sufferers for support and to share experiences. Social media served as a valuable source of information for patients, with health care professionals (HCPs) actively sharing insights and resources through these platforms. CONCLUSIONS: The study finds that analysis of migraine discourse across the 5 Gulf countries reveals active engagement by patients and HCPs in migraine-related discussions on various social media platforms. However, many rely on self-management and alternative medicine instead of seeking professional medical help, which leads to improper management of symptoms. The findings should be regarded as compelling descriptive signals in discourse rather than predictive or inferential outcomes. Social media listening may help to identify possible gaps in management and suggest areas for improvement, but these findings need further validation.