INTRODUCTION
Engagement with social media has become increasingly prevalent in today's digital age.
Among the many social media platforms available in the United States, surveys have shown that 58% of teenagers use TikTok at least daily, and 56% of adults ages 18 to 34 years use TikTok.1,2 With the wealth of content offered on TikTok, young people are turning to this medium to seek guidance on various health-related topics, including information about acne and acne medications. While the platform’s popularity positions TikTok as a beacon of dermatologic education, the dermatologic information about acne on social media is often wrought with misinformation.3
Spironolactone is a hormone-based diuretic that is effective in the treatment of hormonal acne in women, as well as androgenetic alopecia and hidradenitis suppurativa, where it has shown efficacy in reducing symptoms.4,5 Overall, spironolactone is well-tolerated and safe in healthy patients.6,7 Previous research characterized the type of information discussed in spironolactone videos on TikTok, the most common being educational information about spironolactone and side effects of the medication.8 However, the quality and reliability of TikTok videos about spironolactone have not been assessed. Given the wide viewership of TikTok videos created with the hashtag, #spironolactone, we sought to evaluate the quality and reliability of these videos.
Among the many social media platforms available in the United States, surveys have shown that 58% of teenagers use TikTok at least daily, and 56% of adults ages 18 to 34 years use TikTok.1,2 With the wealth of content offered on TikTok, young people are turning to this medium to seek guidance on various health-related topics, including information about acne and acne medications. While the platform’s popularity positions TikTok as a beacon of dermatologic education, the dermatologic information about acne on social media is often wrought with misinformation.3
Spironolactone is a hormone-based diuretic that is effective in the treatment of hormonal acne in women, as well as androgenetic alopecia and hidradenitis suppurativa, where it has shown efficacy in reducing symptoms.4,5 Overall, spironolactone is well-tolerated and safe in healthy patients.6,7 Previous research characterized the type of information discussed in spironolactone videos on TikTok, the most common being educational information about spironolactone and side effects of the medication.8 However, the quality and reliability of TikTok videos about spironolactone have not been assessed. Given the wide viewership of TikTok videos created with the hashtag, #spironolactone, we sought to evaluate the quality and reliability of these videos.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A new TikTok account was created to minimize algorithmic influence on recommended videos. A TikTok search was conducted on December 11, 2023, using the hashtag “#spironolactone.” At the time, videos linked to “#spironolactone” had a cumulative 108.0 million views. The top 50 videos were retrieved from the “Top” tab and included in the analysis. Two independent researchers viewed the videos and assigned scores using the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) score and Global Quality Scale (GQS) criteria.9 The mDISCERN tool measures the reliability of health information and the GQS criteria evaluates the quality of health information (Table 1). Both tools have a possible total score of 5, with a higher score indicating higher reliability or quality, respectively. Assigned scores were averaged for each video. Analyses were conducted using one-way ANOVA and unpaired t-tests.
