WebMD Health Corp - WebMD Reveals What's Hot in Health and Wellness in 2011

NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- WebMD Health Corp. (Nasdaq: WBMD), the leading source of health information announced today its 2011 Year in Health www.webmd.com/yearinhealth, an annual listing of the most talked about health topics of the year. The results, which include information on top trending searches and mobile search terms from webmd.com users, draw from a unique combination of medical insights and user data trends.

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"Healthy eating was top of mind this year and concerns about listeria in cantaloupes came in a close second," said Dr. Michael Smith, WebMD's Chief Medical Editor. "People were also searching for answers on pancreatic cancer with the passing of Steve Jobs and changes in cancer screening guidelines challenged conventional wisdom on cancer prevention."

The year's most popular stories reflected a wide-range of issues.

WebMD's Top Stories of the Year

1. What Not To Eat

2. Contaminated Cantaloupes

3. Screening Guidelines Confusion

4. Vaccine/Autism Study Called "Fraud"

5. Stem Cell Early Home Run?

Year-over-year the top trending searches closely mirrored breaking news events surrounding celebrity deaths and food contaminates. After a number of high-profile cases surfaced in 2011, "bullying" also claimed a spot.

Top Trending Searches
2011	2010
1. Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms	1. Throat Cancer Symptoms
2. Listeria	2. Salmonella
3. Bullying	3. Concussions
4. Dukan Diet	4. Low Glycemic Diet
5. Bath Salts	5. K2 Spice

Men and Women had a lot in common when it came to their interests in health this year. At the top of this list were issues unique to men and women's health, while both shared an interest around healthy eating and diet.

Top Men's Topics	Top Women's Topics
1. Better Sex Life	1. Female Anatomy
2. Male Anatomy	2. Thyroid Troubles
3. Prostate Health	3. Period Problems
4. Low Testosterone	4. Weight Loss and Diet
5. Diet and Super Foods	5. Fatigue

In 2011, people were looking to alert friends and family to issues that could result from dietary or lifestyle choices.

Top Shared Stories

1. Ground Beef Recall Due to E. Coli

2. Cell Phones Might Cause Brain Cancer

3. Ways Smoking Affects Your Looks

4. Foods Your Dog Should Never Eat

5. Death Toll Rising From Contaminated Cantaloupes

Consumers are accessing WebMD on-the-go through their mobile devices for immediate access to a variety a health and wellness information.

Top Mobile Search Terms

1. Ringworm

2. Hemorrhoids

3. Turf Toe

4. Strep Throat

5. Pregnancy Symptoms

Physicians were most interested in learning about the FDA's latest recommendations on drugs. Similar to their patients, they shared an interest in information about cell phones and possible links to cancer.

Top Doctor Stories

1. FDA Restricts Use of Cholesterol Drug

2. Drugs May Cause Serotonin Syndrome

3. Cell Phones May Cause Cancer

4. FDA Moves to Make "Bath Salts" Illegal

5. FDA Approves New Diabetes Drug

About the WebMD Year in Health Methodology
WebMD's team of physicians and health editors reviewed aggregate data from the company's web-based and mobile experiences to identify the leading topics and trends in 2011. The results were based on a number of factors including search volume and growth, page views and stories shared and medical significance. All information used to compile WebMD's Year in Health is anonymous — no personally identifiable information was used.

About WebMD
WebMD Health Corp. (Nasdaq: WBMD) is the leading provider of health information services, serving consumers, physicians, healthcare professionals, employers, and health plans through our public and private online portals, mobile platforms and health-focused publications.

The WebMD Health Network includes WebMD Health, Medscape, MedicineNet, emedicineHealth, RxList, theheart.org, drugs.com and Medscape Education.

SOURCE WebMD