Classification of Health-Related Social Media Posts: Evaluation of Post Content-Classifier Models and Analysis of User Demographics.

Background: The increasing volume of health-related social media activity, where users connect, collaborate, and engage, has increased the significance of analyzing how people use health-related social media.

Objective: The aim of this study was to classify the content (eg, posts that share experiences and seek support) of users who write health-related social media posts and study the effect of user demographics on post content.

Methods: We analyzed two different types of health-related social media: (1) health-related online forums-WebMD and DailyStrength-and (2) general online social networks-Twitter and Google+.

Health Effects Associated With Electronic Cigarette Use: Automated Mining of Online Forums.

Background: Our previous infodemiological study was performed by manually mining health-effect data associated with electronic cigarettes (ECs) from online forums. Manual mining is time consuming and limits the number of posts that can be retrieved.

Objective: Our goal in this study was to automatically extract and analyze a large number (>41,000) of online forum posts related to the health effects associated with EC use between 2008 and 2015.

Demographic-Based Content Analysis of Web-Based Health-Related Social Media.

Background: An increasing number of patients from diverse demographic groups share and search for health-related information on Web-based social media. However, little is known about the content of the posted information with respect to the users' demographics.

Objective: The aims of this study were to analyze the content of Web-based health-related social media based on users' demographics to identify which health topics are discussed in which social media by which demographic groups and to help guide educational and research activities.

A Study of the Demographics of Web-Based Health-Related Social Media Users.

Background: The rapid spread of Web-based social media in recent years has impacted how patients share health-related information. However, little work has studied the demographics of these users.

Objective: Our aim was to study the demographics of users who participate in health-related Web-based social outlets to identify possible links to health care disparities.