Topic and Sentiment Trends in Semaglutide Discussions on X: Subpopulation-Based Longitudinal Analysis

TL;DR

This study analyzes how different groups on X discuss semaglutide, finding varied sentiment and topics over time, including weight loss, side effects, and regulatory issues.

Contribution

The study provides a longitudinal, subpopulation-based analysis of sentiment and topic trends in semaglutide discussions on social media.

Findings

Sentiment toward semaglutide declined over time, with organizational accounts showing less negativity than individuals.

Discussions focused on weight loss, side effects, economic factors, and celebrity/political influence.

Gender-based differences were observed, with female users more likely to mention celebrities and politicians.

Abstract

User experience has a significant impact on pharmaceutical drug effectiveness. Social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) have become prominent spaces where individuals share their medication-related experiences, especially with widely marketed drugs such as semaglutide. Despite the large volume of conversation, a comprehensive understanding of how various user subpopulations engage with semaglutide-related discussions remains underdeveloped.

This study aims to explore how semaglutide is perceived and discussed across different X user groups. Within these user groups, we investigate (1) the evolution of sentiment patterns toward semaglutide and (2) the evolution and prevalence of semaglutide-related discussion topics.

We prepared a dataset consisting of 859,751 X posts (tweets) pertaining to semaglutide, along with related metadata, that were posted between July 2021 and April 2024. We apply sentiment analysis and topic modeling to the collected posts and analyze the sentiment patterns and topics within specific user subpopulations and time periods.

Our analysis reveals a mean sentiment score of –0.24 (SD 0.669) across all posts, with all user subpopulations experiencing a decline in sentiment during the study period. User discussions focus on semaglutide’s applications in weight loss and potential side effects, along with economic factors and celebrity/political influence. We also uncover differences in sentiment and discussion topics across user subpopulations. Notably, organizational accounts consistently express less negative sentiment (mean −0.04, SD 0.542) than individuals (mean −0.28, SD 0.605), with a statistically significant difference (P<.001), particularly in discussions related to drug efficacy and regulatory concerns. Interrupted time-series analysis shows a marked decrease in sentiment during the November 2022-January 2023 period, coinciding with regulatory announcements about potential adverse effects. In addition, we observe gender-based variations, such as a greater prevalence of discussions involving celebrities and politicians within female user posts (8368/39,786, 21%) compared to male user posts (8087/46,133, 17.5%), and male users expressing more positive sentiment.

This study helps advance the understanding of how diverse user groups perceive and discuss widely marketed drugs like semaglutide. Although we observe a general negativity, there are nuanced differences among the subpopulations. Our results offer valuable implications for health communication strategies and pharmacovigilance.

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