Background: Cyberchondria refers to an abnormal behavioral pattern in which excessive or repeated online searches for health-related information are distressing or anxiety-provoking.Health anxiety has been found to be associated with both online health information seeking and cyberchondria. The aims of the present systematic review and meta-analysis were to examine the magnitude of these associations and identify any moderator variables.Methods: A systematic literature search was performed across several databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase) and reference lists of included studies.Results: Twenty studies were included across two independent meta-analyses, with 7373 participants. Random effects meta-analyses showed that there was a positive correlation between health anxiety and online health information seeking [r = 0.34, 95% CI (0.20, 0.48), p < .0001], and between health anxiety and cyberchondria [r = 0.62, 95% CI (0.52, 0.71), p < .0001]. A meta-regression indicated that the age of study participants [Q(1) = 4.58, p = .03] was partly responsible for the heterogeneity found for the relationship between health anxiety and cyberchondria. Limitations:The generalizability and validity of our findings are restricted by the methodological limitations of the primary studies, namely, an over-reliance on a single measure of cyberchondria, the Cyberchondria Severity Scale. Conclusions:Our review found a positive correlation between health anxiety and online health information seeking, and between health anxiety and cyberchondria. Further research should aim to explore the contexts for these associations as well as address the identified limitations of the extant literature.

Purpose of Review The construct of cyberchondria was introduced relatively recently. This article aims to review the conceptualization, theoretical basis and correlates of cyberchondria, as well as its prevention and management. Recent Findings Although there is no consensus, most definitions of cyberchondria emphasize online health research associated with heightened distress or anxiety. The two theoretical models of cyberchondria involve reassurance seeking and specific metacognitive beliefs. Cyberchondria has relationships with health anxiety, problematic Internet use and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, with public health implications pertaining to functional impairment and altered healthcare utilization. Suggestions about prevention and management of cyberchondria have been put forward, but not tested yet. Summary Research interest in cyberchondria has steadily increased. It is uncertain whether cyberchondria can be considered a distinct entity. Future research should aim to clarify the conceptual status of cyberchondria, quantify its impact and develop evidence-based approaches for a better control of cyberchondria.

Anxiety and depressive symptoms are common problems in adolescence that could be addressed by means of preventive interventions. Even though transdiagnostic cognitive behavior therapy (T-CBT) is potentially an ideal strategy to deal with anxiety and depression, it has rarely been used for preventive purposes. In addition, so far, no study has used internet-delivered T-CBT to prevent anxiety and depression in adolescents. This study aimed to examine the utility of AMTE, an internet-delivered T-CBT program, for the indicated prevention of anxiety and depression in adolescents. AMTE was applied to 30 adolescents (56.7% females, age range = 12–18 years, Mage = 14.00, SDage = 1.89) who showed subclinical symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Participants were assessed at pre- and post-treatment and follow-up (3 months). We found that after the program, the symptoms of self-reported anxiety and depression, clinician-rated symptom severity, and self-reported and parent-reported severity of the main problems had significantly improved. In addition, there were significant improvements in anxiety sensitivity and emotional avoidance. Finally, we found high feasibility and acceptability of the program. AMTE is feasible and potentially effective for the indicated prevention of anxiety and depression as well as of clinical transdiagnostic factors, in adolescents.

Background/Objective The Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) is a widely used self-report instrument to evaluate health anxiety. To assess the SHAI's factor structure, psychometric properties, and accuracy in differentiating Spanish non-clinical individuals from patients with severe health anxiety or hypochondriasis. Method A total of 342 community participants (61.6% women; M age = 34.60, SD = 14.91) and 31 hypochondriacal patients (51.6% women; M age = 32.74, SD = 9.69) completed the SHAI and other self-reports assessing symptoms of hypochondriasis, depression, anxiety sensitivity, worry, and obsessive-compulsive. Results The original two-factor structure was selected as the best structure, based on its parsimony and empirical support (Factor 1: Illness likelihood; Factor 2: Negative consequences of illness). Moreover, the Spanish version of the SHAI demonstrated good construct and concurrent and discriminant validity, and internal consistency. A cutoff of 40.5 (total score) accurately distinguished non-clinical individuals from patients with severe health anxiety or hypochondriasis. Conclusions The SHAI is an adequate screening instrument to measure health anxiety in Spanish-speaking community adults.

Introduction Intrusive thoughts about health threats (illness‐ITs) are a potential cognitive risk factor for the development and maintenance of illness anxiety disorder (IAD). This study analyzes the dimensionality of illness‐ITs from normalcy to psychopathology, and it evaluates whether the appraisals instigated by the Its mediate between these thoughts and IAD symptoms. Methods Two groups of individuals participated in the study and completed the Illness Intrusive Thoughts Inventory and the Whiteley Index. The first group was composed of 446 non‐clinical community participants. Of them, 264 individuals (68.6% women; Mage = 30.03 [SD = 13.83]) reported having experienced an upsetting illness‐IT in the past three months and were then included in the main analyses. The second group included 31 patients with a current main diagnosis of IAD based on DSM‐5 criteria (51.6% women; Mage = 32.74 [SD = 9.69]). Their severity was assessed with the Hypochondriasis Yale‐Brown Obsessive‐Compulsive Scale ‐Modified version, with scores ranging from 15 to 58 (M = 46.12, SD = 9.41). Results Illness‐ITs are common in both non‐clinical individuals and in patients with IAD, and they instigate dysfunctional emotional, cognitive, and behavioral consequences, although with greater intensity in patients than in non‐clinical individuals. The relationship between illness‐ITs and IAD is mediated by overestimation of threat and thought‐action fusion‐probability appraisals. Conclusion Illness‐ITs are a dimensional cognitive experience. The way they are appraised facilitates their escalation into symptoms of IAD. Practitioner points Provides support for the cognitive explanatory model of IAD and its usefulness in clinical practice. Indicates that the way people interpret and react to naturally occurring intrusive thoughts about illness seems to be a vulnerability marker for developing an illness anxiety disorder. Emphasizes that the meaning that patients with IAD ascribe to their intrusive thoughts about illnesses must be a main target in the cognitive‐behavioral treatment of IAD. Suggests that the importance of intrusive thoughts in IAD does not lie in the frequency with which they are experienced, but in the way, they are appraised/interpreted, which is what determines whether they become a clinically significant symptom. Indicates that the relationship between illness intrusive thoughts and IAD symptoms in non‐clinical individuals is based on: overestimating the negative consequences of experiencing an illness intrusive thought; and the appraisal that having such a thought would increase its likelihood of coming true. Shows that the frequency of illness‐related intrusive cognitions is associated with worse cognitive and behavioral consequences.