Modern health worries and visits to the general practitioner in a general population sample: An 18 month follow-up study

Andersen, Johan Hviid; Jensen, Jesper Ole

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2012.07.007

Cited by 23 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…No significant association was found with prevalence of medication, registered or unprescribed. Results are generally in line with the existing body of evidence in this field [2,17,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Furthermore, a strong association was found between MHW and general perceived environmental sensitivity, with the latter being a statistical mediator of the relation between worries and the examined outcomes in the present analyses.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…As also documented in previous large sample investigations, the most prominent sources of worries were those related to food production, while possible health effects from EMF sources were of less concern [2,17]. The level of worries in the present study was in general higher compared to other investigations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…In an additional analysis, the continuous variable for MHW was divided into quartiles as in Andersen et al [17], in order to enhance interpretability of the ORs in relation to the dichotomous outcomes and comparability with previous studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A growing body of studies has shown an association between MHW and several health and behavioral outcomes such as self-reported NSPS, healthcare utilization, use of alternative medicine, health anxiety, somatosensory amplification, depression and lower health-related quality of life [2,13,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. The exact role though of worries in the context of environmental health has not been settled.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The relationship of modern health worries to non-specific physical symptoms and perceived environmental sensitivity: A study combining self-reported and general practice data

Baliatsas

Kamp

Hooiveld

et al. 2015

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

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a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oObjective: The present study investigates the association of modern health worries (MHW) with self-reported as well as general practitioner (GP)-registered non-specific physical symptoms (NSPS), medication use, alternative therapy consultations, sleep quality and quality of life. The interrelation between MHW, general environmental sensitivity and the aforementioned outcomes is also explored. Methods: Self-reported questionnaires and data from electronic medical records from 21 general practices in The Netherlands were combined in a sample of 5933 adult participants. Results: The majority of the participants reported increased worries about potential health effects from environmental exposures. The highest worry scores were reported by people who perceived themselves as more vulnerable to environmental stressors. After adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics and diagnosed psychiatric morbidity, higher MHW were significantly associated with increased self-reported prevalence and duration of NSPS, symptom-related healthcare utilization, GP-registered NSPS, alternative therapy consultations and lower sleep quality and quality of life. These associations were statistically mediated by perceived environmental sensitivity. No association was observed between worries and GP-registered medication prescriptions. Conclusion: Modern health worries are very common in the general population. They are associated with self-reported as well as clinically defined NSPS and as such might play a key role in the process of developing and maintaining environmental sensitivities and related symptoms. A large cross-cultural longitudinal study would help to determine important aspects such as temporal precedence and stability of MHW and the relevant psychosocial context within which symptomatic conditions occur.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The relationship of modern health worries to non-specific physical symptoms and perceived environmental sensitivity: A study combining self-reported and general practice data

Baliatsas

Kamp

Hooiveld

et al. 2015

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

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“…People who have higher levels of concern about how various aspects of modern life affect their health (and thus presumably higher expectations that being exposed to these factors will harm them) report higher levels of physical symptoms than people with lower levels of concern 58. People with higher modern health worries are also more likely to seek medical attention from a general practitioner,61 and report more symptoms after being exposed to a specific potential health threat of aerial pesticide spraying 62…”

Section: How Do Expectations Influence Symptom Reporting?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The nocebo effect: patient expectations and medication side effects

Faasse

Petrie

2013

Postgraduate Medical Journal

165

138

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Expectation of treatment side effects is consistently linked with those symptoms being realised. Patient expectations, including those generated by the informed consent process, can have a large influence on the side effects that patients feel after starting a new medical treatment. Such symptoms may be the result of the nocebo effect, whereby the expectation of side effects leads to them being experienced. Side effects may also be due to the misattribution of pre-existing or unrelated symptoms to the new medication. Medical professionals' own negative beliefs about a treatment, especially generic drugs, may further enhance patients' expectations of adverse effects. The news media may also influence expectations, particularly when media attention is directed towards a health or medication scare. This field of research has ethical and clinical implications for both medical professionals and the news media with respect to the level and type of information about treatment side effects that is provided to patients or members of the public.

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Dark Spirituality: Its Impact on the Strategic and Operational Efficiency of Organizations

Burton¹,

Jeong²,

Saini³

2018

The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment

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Modern health worries and visits to the general practitioner in a general population sample: An 18 month follow-up study

Cited by 23 publications

References 17 publications

The relationship of modern health worries to non-specific physical symptoms and perceived environmental sensitivity: A study combining self-reported and general practice data

The relationship of modern health worries to non-specific physical symptoms and perceived environmental sensitivity: A study combining self-reported and general practice data

The nocebo effect: patient expectations and medication side effects

Dark Spirituality: Its Impact on the Strategic and Operational Efficiency of Organizations

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