Cyberchondria: Challenges of Problematic Online Searches for Health-Related Information

Starčević, Vladan

doi:10.1159/000465525

Cited by 156 publications

(174 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…As the interest in the internet resources grows rapidly, people seem to be at greater risk for experiencing health anxiety based on the unreliable information obtained from online search results, particularly cyberchondria (Starcevic, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS): Validity and Reliability Study of the Turkish Version

Selvı¹,

Turan²,

Sayin³

et al. 2018

Sleep Hypn

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Objective: Even though the internet is a valuable resource for medical information, it has the potential to increase anxiety, fear or obsessive-compulsive behaviours, particularly among individuals more prone to health related anxiety. Researchers have found that health anxiety, hypochondria, and online health searches are associated with increased anxious symptomatology. The aim of this study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale, a measure of online health anxiety. Method: Three hundred thirty-seven university students with an age range of 16-55 were included in the study. The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS), Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Anxiety Sensitivity Inventory-3 (ASI-3), and Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI) were administered to participants. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that five-factor solution best fit to the data. The overall and subscales of the CSS had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.91, for the overall measure, and Cronbach α values ranged from 0.78 to 0.87), with an exception of 'mistruct of medical professional' subscale (Cronbach α = 0.64). The total and subscales of the CSS had generally good convergent validity. Conclusion: The CSS is a newly developed screening tool to assess online health anxiety, and present study demonstrated that the Turkish version of the scale had promising psychometric properties.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS): Validity and Reliability Study of the Turkish Version

Selvı¹,

Turan²,

Sayin³

et al. 2018

Sleep Hypn

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“…Cyberchondria is considered an abnormal behavioral pattern, rather than a condition or diagnostic entity (Starcevic, 2017) and is thought to be especially common among people with high levels of health anxiety (Starcevic & Berle, 2013). Studies have shown that searching for health information may indeed increase levels of distress and uncertainty about one's feared condition (Baumgartner & Hartmann, 2011;Doherty-Torstrick, Walton, & Fallon, 2016;Singh & Brown, 2016;White & Horvitz, 2009), and potentially lead to greater functional impairment (Doherty-Torstrick, Walton, & Fallon, 2016) providing preliminary indirect support for the construct.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationships between health anxiety, online health information seeking, and cyberchondria: Systematic review and meta-analysis

McMullan

Berle

Arnáez

et al. 2019

Journal of Affective Disorders

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251

159

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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.

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“…It is believed that there is an intricate connection between cyberchondria and health anxiety or hypochondriasis as suggested by the very term which is derived from "cyber" and "hypochondriasis," denoting its connection to hypochondriasis with regard to internet use (4,5). Some argue that cyberchondria is just a 21 st century counterpart of hypochondriasis, i.e., pathological levels of illness worry, rather than a novel condition (5). Cyberchondria results in recurrent, excessive time-consuming infor-mation seeking behaviour which is distressing to the patient (2,3,5).…”

Section: Sl J Psychiatry 2019; 10(1): 11-15mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some argue that cyberchondria is just a 21 st century counterpart of hypochondriasis, i.e., pathological levels of illness worry, rather than a novel condition (5). Cyberchondria results in recurrent, excessive time-consuming infor-mation seeking behaviour which is distressing to the patient (2,3,5). Irrespective of the initial reason for online medical information search, the resultant anxiety may lead to a cycle of further searches and more anxiety Original paper DOI: http://doi.org/10.4038/sljpsyc.v10i1.8202…”

Section: Sl J Psychiatry 2019; 10(1): 11-15mentioning

confidence: 99%

“Muddling by googling” – Cyberchondria among outpatient attendees of two hospitals in Sri Lanka

et al. 2019

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BackgroundThe internet is widely used as a source of health information, and the negative effects of this practice is well documented. Cyberchondria, the unfounded escalation of concerns about common symptoms based on review of online information has been identified as a major concern. This area has not been studied in Sri Lanka. AimsWe studied the prevalence, nature and effects of cyberchondria among outpatients in Sri Lanka. MethodsData was gathered from 300 outpatients, 150 patients each attending a government and private hospital in Western province using a self-administered questionnaire. ResultsOut of 300 participants 178 were female and the average age was 42 years. Only 24% of the participants used the internet as an information source on health related issues. The prevalence of cyberchondria was 16.3% in our study population. Cyberchondria was significantly more common among outpatients of the private hospital. A majority of patients who made a self-diagnosis using online information had made an incorrect diagnosis. One third of internet users felt anxious after searching about their symptoms and 34% sought further medical advice following internet use. Conclusions The possible negative effects of online health information is a concern in Sri Lanka. Further studies and public education regarding this area in Sri Lanka are required.

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Cyberchondria: Challenges of Problematic Online Searches for Health-Related Information

Cited by 156 publications

References 23 publications

The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS): Validity and Reliability Study of the Turkish Version

The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS): Validity and Reliability Study of the Turkish Version

The relationships between health anxiety, online health information seeking, and cyberchondria: Systematic review and meta-analysis

“Muddling by googling” – Cyberchondria among outpatient attendees of two hospitals in Sri Lanka

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