Cancer, pregnancy top health searches

11th April 2008

The health conditions most likely to be queried on the web in February were cancer and pregnancy, a new report has revealed.

Figures from comScore have identified that pregnancy was the subject of 8,841 searches over the course of the month, compared to a corresponding figure of 7,718 for cancer.

Carolina Petrini, the company's senior vice-president, said that the fact such conditions were more likely to be the subject of searches than more common illnesses like diabetes, depression and flu was interesting.

"A reason for this may be due to life-changing nature of a cancer diagnosis or a pregnancy," said Ms Petrini.

Meanwhile, five of the 20 health conditions most commonly searched for in February were sexual health related, the report found.

The prevalence of searches for herpes, HIV, menopause, HPV and pregnancy was said by comScore to be evidence that the web's anonymity was a crucial factor for users looking for information about such conditions.

Online medical resources and telemedicine are viewed as feasible options for two-thirds of US residents over the age of 65, a recent investigation by the American Association of Retired Persons found.