Research Article

DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS

Volume: 89 Number: 1 February 9, 2026
EN TR

DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality and readability of patient education materials about fibromyalgia generated by ChatGPT to assess whether this AI application can be reliably used as an online health information source for the general population.

Materials and Methods: In this study, Google Trends was used to identify the most frequently searched keywords related to fibromyalgia. The identified keywords were categorized into three groups: general information, diagnosis, and treatment, and were sequentially entered into ChatGPT. The quality of the generated responses was assessed using the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) tool. The readability of the texts was evaluated using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease (FRE) parameters.

Results: The mean mDISCERN score of the texts was 44.31±4.67, the mean FKGL score was 15.29±2.29, and mean FRE score was 24.23±10.27. The average mDISCERN score indicated that the texts were of moderate quality. According to the mean Flesch-Kincaid scores, the texts were found to be quite difficult to read and were mostly appropriate for readers at the undergraduate level or higher. Furthermore, the statistical analysis among the three categories revealed no significant differences in mDISCERN, FKGL, and FKRE scores.

Conclusion: AI language models like ChatGPT hold innovative potential in healthcare communication by providing accessible and unbiased information that can support health literacy and patient education. However, the high level of reading comprehension required currently limits their effectiveness and reliability for direct patient use. Therefore, the content generated by ChatGPT should be considered a complementary resource and should be critically examined by users.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Pain, Rheumatology and Arthritis

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

February 9, 2026

Submission Date

October 16, 2025

Acceptance Date

December 18, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 89 Number: 1

APA
Öney, E., Korkut, B., Akpınar, F. M., Arman, S., & Dıraçoğlu, D. (2026). DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS. Journal of Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, 89(1), 57-62. https://doi.org/10.26650/IUITFD.1805348
AMA
1.Öney E, Korkut B, Akpınar FM, Arman S, Dıraçoğlu D. DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS. İst Tıp Fak Derg. 2026;89(1):57-62. doi:10.26650/IUITFD.1805348
Chicago
Öney, Emre, Berk Korkut, Fatma Merih Akpınar, Sina Arman, and Demirhan Dıraçoğlu. 2026. “DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS”. Journal of Istanbul Faculty of Medicine 89 (1): 57-62. https://doi.org/10.26650/IUITFD.1805348.
EndNote
Öney E, Korkut B, Akpınar FM, Arman S, Dıraçoğlu D (February 1, 2026) DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS. Journal of Istanbul Faculty of Medicine 89 1 57–62.
IEEE
[1]E. Öney, B. Korkut, F. M. Akpınar, S. Arman, and D. Dıraçoğlu, “DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS”, İst Tıp Fak Derg, vol. 89, no. 1, pp. 57–62, Feb. 2026, doi: 10.26650/IUITFD.1805348.
ISNAD
Öney, Emre - Korkut, Berk - Akpınar, Fatma Merih - Arman, Sina - Dıraçoğlu, Demirhan. “DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS”. Journal of Istanbul Faculty of Medicine 89/1 (February 1, 2026): 57-62. https://doi.org/10.26650/IUITFD.1805348.
JAMA
1.Öney E, Korkut B, Akpınar FM, Arman S, Dıraçoğlu D. DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS. İst Tıp Fak Derg. 2026;89:57–62.
MLA
Öney, Emre, et al. “DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS”. Journal of Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, vol. 89, no. 1, Feb. 2026, pp. 57-62, doi:10.26650/IUITFD.1805348.
Vancouver
1.Emre Öney, Berk Korkut, Fatma Merih Akpınar, Sina Arman, Demirhan Dıraçoğlu. DIGITAL CURIOSITY ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND READABILITY OF ChatGPT’S RESPONSES BASED ON GOOGLE TRENDS. İst Tıp Fak Derg. 2026 Feb. 1;89(1):57-62. doi:10.26650/IUITFD.1805348

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