Analysis of YouTube videos on rheumatic diseases and pregnancy: a cross-sectional study

TL;DR

This study analyzed YouTube videos about rheumatic diseases and pregnancy, finding that content quality varies and user engagement doesn't reflect reliability.

Contribution

The study introduces a classification of YouTube video quality and user interaction metrics specific to rheumatic diseases and pregnancy.

Findings

Most videos were narrative-focused, and panel/webinar videos were all high quality.

User engagement metrics like views and comments did not correlate with content quality.

Common topics included drug safety and pregnancy outcomes in rheumatic diseases.

Abstract

This study assessed the quality and reliability of YouTube videos on rheumatic diseases and pregnancy, analyzing video sources, presentation formats, user interaction metrics, and common topics. In this cross-sectional study, YouTube searches were conducted on February 2, 2026, using the keywords “rheumatology pregnancy”, “rheumatic diseases pregnancy”, “rheumatism pregnancy”, and “arthritis pregnancy”. The top 50 results for each keyword were evaluated, yielding a total of 200 videos. For each video, the number of views, likes, comments, and the number of days since upload were recorded; daily data were calculated. Videos were classified by presentation method. Using a classification scheme developed for the thematic distribution of video content, all topic categories in each video were recorded. Videos were categorized into low, intermediate, and high quality groups based on their Global Quality Scale (GQS) scores. After applying exclusion criteria, 55 videos were included in the analysis. Of these, 15 (27.3%) were classified as low quality, 16 (29.1%) as intermediate, and 24 (43.6%) as high quality. The most common presentation format was narrative-focused (n = 35, 63.6%). All videos presented as panel/webinar (n = 5, 100%) were rated high quality. Daily views (p = 0.285) and daily comment counts (p = 0.978) did not differ between quality groups, whereas daily likes were higher in the low quality group (p = 0.014). The most frequently discussed topics were the safety of anti-rheumatic drugs (n = 28), pre-pregnancy family planning (n = 27), management of disease activity during pregnancy (n = 21), and pregnancy outcomes in rheumatic diseases (n = 17). The quality of content on rheumatic diseases and pregnancy on YouTube is heterogeneous. User engagement metrics do not reliably reflect content quality. Increasing the production of structured, guideline-based contents, supporting materials to correct misinformation, and evaluating different platforms will improve digital health communication in the field of rheumatic diseases and pregnancy.

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