Identifying the challenges and opportunities of PCOS awareness month by analysing its global digital impact
Open accessAbstract
Background and objective: Although significant resources are invested each September for PCOS Awareness Month campaign, there are no studies measuring its impact. We evaluated the digital impact of PCOS Awareness Month, common themes and associated topics, top influencers, and global equity of influence during the PCOS Awareness month. Methods: In this serial cross-sectional analysis, we studied the outputs from Symplur® to study the total impressions of #PCOS on Twitter®. We tracked the hashtags—#PCOS, #PCOSawarenessmonth, #PCOSawareness—and a search query— “#PCOS OR #PCOSawarenessmonth OR #PCOSawareness”—using Sproutsocial® to study the total number of tweets related to PCOS Awareness Month. Network analysis was done using SocioViz® to identify common themes and associated topics. Using SymplurRank® machine learning algorithm, the top 10 #PCOS influencers were identified based on the number of mentions received. Google® Trends was used to study the web and news search popularity over the last 10 years beyond social media platforms. Results: An overall upward trend in the digital impact of PCOS awareness was noted since 2017. While the top themes associated with PCOS (insulin resistance, depression, anxiety, menopause, hormones, infertility) remained the same in 2021 and 2022, newer themes emerged in the latter year suggesting the need for ongoing review. News outlets were the most influential organisations during PCOS Awareness Month in both years of study. Seven of the top 10 users were the same in both years. Limited engagement from African, Asian, South American, and non-English speaking European countries was seen on Google Trends analysis. Conclusion: Active involvement from various stakeholders of PCOS Awareness Month has shaped it into an effective strategy to raise awareness with social media playing a crucial role in amplifying the message. Our findings also provide an opportunity to understand the current perceptions and expectations amongst the public, which can influence future healthcare investment and research.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Most engagement was reported in the USA, UK, Australia, India, Canada, South Africa, and Trinidad & Tobago, while there was limited engagement in African, Asian, South American, and non-English speaking European countries.
“Most engagement was reported in the USA, UK, Australia, India, Canada, South Africa, and Trinidad & Tobago, while there was limited engagement in African, Asian, South American, and non-English speaking European countries [71].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [71]
The Results (‘Geographical equity’) name all seven countries in the claim and report limited engagement in the regions listed. However, the passage describes involvement rather than establishing that *most* engagement came from those countries, and it also names the Philippines. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredCoinciding with the increased global online activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns, September 2020 saw the highest spike of total tweets (n = 16,465), constituting the highest yearly increase (136.1%) in total tweets since September 2014.
“Coinciding with the increased global online activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns, September 2020 saw the highest spike of total tweets (n = 16,465), constituting the highest yearly increase (136.1%) in total tweets since September 2014 [71].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [71]
The Results (Digital impact of PCOS awareness month, Table 1) report 16,465 tweets in September 2020 and a 136.1% yearly increase, the highest since 2014. The Discussion says the spike “possibly coincides” with increased online activity during the pandemic; it does not establish that connection as fact or specifically attribute it to lockdowns. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredTen studies included information regarding the use of social media, and two other studies that mention social media were described in the overall context of mobile apps and machine learning.
“Ten studies included information regarding the use of social media [40,41,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75]. Two other studies that mention social media were described in the overall context of mobile apps [60] and machine learning [76] (Supplementary File S3).”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [71]
Most of the included social media studies (n = 6) were published in 2023, and two were published in 2022.
“Most of the included studies (n = 6) were published in 2023 [68,69,71,72,73,74], and two were published in 2022 [70,75].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [71]
The top 10 most influential accounts in 2021 and 2022 were divided between PCOS researchers and/or advocates and organizations, with seven of those users being the same in both years.
“The top 10 most influential accounts in 2021 and 2022 were divided between PCOS researchers and/or advocates and organizations, with seven of those users being the same in both years [71].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [71]
Two UK studies analyzed data from Twitter/X to establish the demographics and experiences of the top 100 PCOS 'influencers' and organizations advocating for PCOS and to study the digital impact of the annual initiative 'PCOS Awareness Month'.
“Two UK studies analyzed data from Twitter/X to establish the demographics and experiences of the top 100 PCOS “influencers” and organizations advocating for PCOS [70] and to study the digital impact of the annual initiative “PCOS Awareness Month” [71].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [71]
Some prominent PCOS researchers are active on social media, particularly during September, PCOS Awareness Month.
“For example, along with PCOS support groups, some prominent PCOS researchers are also active on social media, particularly during the month of September, i.e., PCOS Awareness Month [70,71].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [71]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Jacomy, M., Venturini, T., Heymann, S., & Bastian, M. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098679 · Cited by 2,909 · see citing works
Teede, H. J., Misso, M. L., Costello, M. F., Dokras, A., Laven, J., Moran, L., Piltonen, T., Norman, R. J., & the International PCOS Network (2018) · Clinical Endocrinology · doi:10.1111/cen.13795 · Cited by 1,823 · see citing works
Teede, H. J., Misso, M. L., Costello, M. F., Dokras, A., Laven, J., Moran, L., Piltonen, T., Norman, R. J., Andersen, M., Azziz, R., et al. (2018) · Fertility and Sterility · doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.05.004 · Cited by 1,325 · see citing works
Using Twitter for breast cancer prevention: an analysis of breast cancer awareness month
Thackeray, R., Burton, S. H., Giraud-Carrier, C. G., Rollins, S. J., & Draper, C. R. (2013) · BMC Cancer · doi:10.1186/1471-2407-13-508 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
The role of social network analysis as a learning analytics tool in online problem based learning
Saqr, M., & Alamro, A. (2019) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-019-1599-6 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Health Awareness Days: Sufficient Evidence to Support the Craze?
Purtle, J., & Roman, L. A. (2015) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2015.302621 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Lau, G. M., Elghobashy, M., Thanki, M., Ibegbulam, S., Latthe, P., Gillett, C. D. T., O’Reilly, M. W., Arlt, W., Lindenmeyer, A., Kempegowda, P., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Endocrinology · doi:10.3389/fendo.2022.1064937 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Self-citationEvaluating the impact of health awareness events on Google search frequency
Hao, Z., Liu, M., & Ge, X. (2019) · Preventive Medicine Reports · doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.100887 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Top 100 #PCOS influencers: understanding who, why and how online content for PCOS is influenced
Elhariry, M., Malhotra, K., Solomon, M., Goyal, K., & Kempegowda, P. (2022) · Frontiers in Endocrinology · doi:10.3389/fendo.2022.1084047 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Self-citationGlobal impact of deep vein thrombosis awareness month: challenges and future recommendations
Malhotra, K., Bawa, A., Goyal, K., & Wander, G. S. (2022) · European Heart Journal · doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehac252 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Self-citationHashtag Global Surgery: The Role of Social Media in Advancing the Field of Global Surgery
Vervoort, D., & Luc, J. G. Y. (2020) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.8468 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Prioritizing and Promoting Hernia Awareness Month: A Call for Action
Malhotra, K., & Bawa, A. (2022) · World Journal of Surgery · doi:10.1007/s00268-022-06553-6 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Self-citationUnderstanding the digital impact of World Hypertension Day: key takeaways
Malhotra, K., Kalra, A., Kumar, A., Majmundar, M. M., Wander, G. S., & Bawa, A. (2022) · European Heart Journal - Digital Health · doi:10.1093/ehjdh/ztac039 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationEvaluating the Global Impact of Stroke Awareness Month: A Serial Cross-Sectional Analysis
Goyal, K., Nafri, A., Marwah, M., Aramadaka, S., Aggarwal, P., Malhotra, S., Mannam, R., Gupta, O., & Malhotra, K. (2022) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.28997 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [7]PCOS awareness symposium 2021 - Philadelphia. Available at: https://pcoschallenge.org/symposium/philadelphia/.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The Invisible Struggle: The Psychosocial Aspects of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Dewani, D., Karwade, P., & Mahajan, K. S. (2023) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.51321 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Malhotra, K., & Kempegowda, P. (2023) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/49220 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Self-citationElghobashy, M., Lau, G. M., Davitadze, M., Gillett, C. D. T., O’Reilly, M., Arlt, W., PCOS SEva Working Group, Lindenmeyer, A., & Kempegowda, P. (2023) · Frontiers in Endocrinology · doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1175548 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationPolycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review
Graca, S., Alloh, F., Lagojda, L., Dallaway, A., Kyrou, I., Randeva, H. S., & Kite, C. (2024) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare12161671 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Measuring user influence in real-time on twitter using behavioural features
Hasan, M. A. U., Bakar, A. A., & Yaakub, M. R. (2024) · Physica A Statistical Mechanics and its Applications · doi:10.1016/j.physa.2024.129662 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Vasudevan, S., Gautam, R., Maan, P., Arora, A., Ganie, M. A., Jabbar, P. K., & Arora, T. K. (2025) · Frontiers in Reproductive Health · doi:10.3389/frph.2025.1627670 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Afaq, M., Vashisht, K., Al-Dhoon, A., Abraham, D., Atanasov, A. G., Matin, M., Arshad, Z., Kashyap, R., & Nawaz, F. A. (2025) · DIGITAL HEALTH · doi:10.1177/20552076251314100 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Patni, M. A., Dube, R., Kar, S. S., George, B. T., Goud, M., Srinivasamurthy, S. K., & Elamin, A. A. E. (2025) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms26125575 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Malhotra, K., & Kempegowda, P. (2023) · DIGITAL HEALTH · doi:10.1177/20552076231220787 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationMalhotra, K., Aggarwal, P., Malhotra, S., & Goyal, K. (2023) · JMIR Dermatology · doi:10.2196/49399 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationWang, Y., Ding, J., Min, Y., Zhang, Y., Ming, J., & Yin, T. (2025) · International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics · doi:10.1002/ijgo.70108 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Özcan, H., Altın, S., Şekercioğlu, E., Köse, S., & Güzel, E. (2025) · International Journal of Clinical Practice · doi:10.1155/ijcp/4889905 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
World vitiligo day: a model for grassroots medical activism and pharmaceutical innovation
Valle, Y., Soto, C. M. A., Kassymkhanova, A., Ocampo‐Candiani, J., Gondokaryono, S. P., Binić, I., Thuong, N. V., Cunha, P. R., Hercogova, J. T., Gao, X., et al. (2025) · Frontiers in Medicine · doi:10.3389/fmed.2025.1571422 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
World Vitiligo Day: lessons from Mexico's annual headquarters and its real-world impact
Ocampo‐Candiani, J., Sigova, J., Lotti, T., & Valle, Y. (2024) · Frontiers in Medicine · doi:10.3389/fmed.2024.1502924 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Examining the Representation of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) on Social Media: A Scoping Review
Kumari, S., & Raj, P. (2026) · Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews · doi:10.18510/hssr.2026.1412
Saadeh, N. A., Alshogran, O. Y., Allan, A., Alsheqerat, H., Amoorah, J., & Hasan, S. (2026) · Journal of Education and Health Promotion · doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_754_25
- Authors
- Malhotra, K., Pan, C. S. C., Davitadze, M., Team PCOS SEva, & Kempegowda, P.
- Affiliations
- Dayanand Medical College & Hospital (IN)
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Kempegowda, Punith
- Venue
- Frontiers in Endocrinology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2023-03-02
- Volume
- 14
- Pages
- 1109141-1109141
- ISSN
- 1664-2392 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10018009
- OpenAlex
- W4323315096
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5
- FWCI
- 4.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Endocrinology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Spiral (Imperial College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Ovarian function and disorders
- Social Sciences › Communication › Public Relations and Crisis Communication
- Keywords
- polycystic ovary syndrome, public awareness campaigns, social media engagement, Twitter, hashtags, influencers, news media influence, insulin resistance, infertility, public health communication
- MeSH terms
- Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Menopause, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Social Media
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
