Esra DEMİR ÜNAL, Selim Selçuk ÇOMOĞLU
Turkish Journal of Neurology - 2026;32(1):75-83
Objectives: This study aimed to characterize global and regional information-seeking patterns for common Parkinson's disease (PD)-related sleep disorders (SDs) and to assess whether the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic caused a permanent structural change in these patterns using interrupted time series analysis. Materials and methods: In this retrospective, multi-country infodemiological study, Google Trends monthly relative search volume data for 10 PD-related SDs was analyzed across nine countries and globally between 2015 and 2025. Results: Globally, insomnia relative search volume increased from 42.5 +/- 5.2 to 68.2 +/- 8.4 (p < 0.001). Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) searches rose by 52.1% (mean difference: +6.3; 95% confidence interval, 4.8-7.9). Interrupted time series showed immediate level increases for insomnia (beta2 = +12.4, p < 0.001) and excessive daytime sleepiness (beta2 = +4.2, p = 0.021), and a significant positive slope acceleration in RBD (beta3 = +0.08, p = 0.045). Türkiye demonstrated an accelerated restless leg syndrome slope (beta3 = +0.45, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic produced a lasting digital phenotypic shift in PD-related SDs, with notable global increases in insomnia and RBD interest, and region-specific rises, such as restless leg syndrome in Türkiye. Infodemiology offers valuable epidemiological surveillance insights to guide clinical and public health responses.
