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.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.037 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
A Longitudinal Study of Reading and Mental Health Development in Children With Reported Ear and Hearing Difficulties.
J Speech Lang Hear Res
March 2025
Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, Australian Catholic University, Sydney, New South Wales.
Purpose: Reported ear and hearing difficulties (rEHD) are known to be associated with reading difficulties as well as mental health problems. In this study, we aim to examine the relationship between reading and mental health in children with rEHD.
Method: In this study, we used structural equation modeling to measure the strength of longitudinal relationships between reading and mental health-related variables in children with rEHD-aged 5-11 years-in four large longitudinal databases from the United Kingdom ( = 5,254), the United States (s = 1,541 and 6,401), and Australia ( = 2,272).
Exploring the Link Between Sleep Patterns and Early Cardiovascular Disease Markers in Young Adults with Chronic Anxiety.
Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol
March 2025
Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Chronic anxiety is commonly associated with poor sleep patterns, which may contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) through mechanisms like oxidative stress, vascular dysfunction, and poor blood pressure control. As sleep disturbances, particularly poor sleep quality and/or regularity, have been independently linked to CVD development, this study explored whether sleep quality/regularity in young adults with chronic anxiety are associated with early indicators of CVD risk, specifically oxidative stress, vascular function, and blood pressure control. Twenty-eight young (24±4 years) participants with a prior clinical diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) or elevated GAD symptoms (GAD7>10) had their sleep quality (total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency (SE)) and regularity (via TST/SE standard deviations (SD)) assessed for seven consecutive days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAssessing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary health behavior outcomes of a community-based virtual group health coaching for cancer survivors program.
Support Care Cancer
March 2025
Cancer Support Community Delaware, 4810 Lancaster Pike, Wilmington, DE, 19807, USA.
Purpose: The primary purpose was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a group health coaching (GHC) program with cancer patients and survivors; secondarily, to determine the preliminary effects of GHC on several behavioral lifestyle factors.
Methods: GHC was provided to people diagnosed with cancer via videoconference by trained health coaches across six GHC sessions over a 3-month period. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected.
Associations of cMIND Diet with depressive and anxiety symptoms among old people in China: a nationwide study.
Eur J Nutr
March 2025
The Thirteenth People's Hospital of Chongqing, Chongqing, 400053, China.
Purpose: The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is a novel dietary approach that exhibits neuroprotective benefits. Studies have found that the MIND diet can effectively reduce the risk of depression and anxiety, but the relationship between them is unclear among older Chinese people. The objective of this research was to explore the association of the MIND diet with depression and anxiety among elderly Chinese individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNetwork analysis of PTSD symptoms following childbirth and comorbid conditions among women with sexual trauma history.
Arch Womens Ment Health
March 2025
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, B62 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
Purpose: Women with a history of sexual trauma (ST) have heightened risk for postpartum psychopathology. Although ST increases risk for traumatic delivery and maternal psychopathology, knowledge of the functional connections among various psychiatric symptoms and complicated delivery remains limited.
Methods: We used regularized partial correlation networks to examine connections between symptoms of childbirth-related PTSD (CB-PTSD), depression, anxiety, somatization, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and complicated delivery (e.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!