This study analyzed public information on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) on the TikTok platform and the role of healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the population has turned to the internet as a source of information. Surveys suggest that one in every three to five people seeks information before consulting a physician. TikTok is a fast-growing social media platform that increasingly utilizes short videos for medical education, patient education, and advocacy. AD is the most common neurodegenerative cause of dementia and is responsible for significant individual morbidity and mortality.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on April 30, 2025, analyzing the TikTok videos on AD in Arabic or English. The variables collected included usernames, video title, date of posting, video duration, video sources or uploader, content type, and engagement metrics. The quality of health information was evaluated using the DISCERN tool, which is commonly used for digital information. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS and Microsoft Excel.

The study included 100 videos of the hashtag Alzheimer's. The mean number of likes was 568120, the mean comments was 3085, and the mean number of shares was 20146. Only 33% of videos were streamed by HCPs (23% physicians, and 10% other staff). Regarding the content, there were videos about therapy suggestions (10%), disease descriptions (30%), lifestyle (16%), news (8%), fun (10%), and others (27%). As for the DISCERN score, the majority had poor (42%) and very poor (39%) quality, while only 19% had fair or higher quality. 

This study demonstrates the poor quality of public information on AD on TikTok and a low percentage of essential information, with minor contributions from HCPs. These findings emphasize the urgent need for healthcare professionals and organizations to engage more actively and effectively on social media platforms to enhance public health awareness.