A Nimhans study among 356 college-going students in Bengaluru has shown that a large proportion - 48.6% - had cyberchondriasis. Cyberchondriasis is an abnormal behaviour pattern of excessively searching for health information online. It's driven by the person's anxiety or distress about health, but the behaviour only amplifies rather than reducing these feelings.
Also, the person may not have an actual health issue. The study showed that only 4.8% of all participants were found to have a health issue when they consulted a doctor.
The study deployed the globally-used Cyberchondriasis Severity Scale, and then developed its own cut-off point to identify the group with cyberchondriasis. The scale looks at four aspects - excessiveness or the amount of time spent online, distrusting the information found, doing further search for reassurance, and compulsive behaviour to suddenly check information. "In this population, we found that excessiveness was particularly high," says Neeraj M S who conducted the study.
The study participants were all college-going students in the age group of 18 to 25 years. This is the first study in Bengaluru on cyberchondriasis prevalence, says Dr B P Nirmala, head of the Psychiatric Social Work Department at Nimhans, who guided the study.
The study also measured smartphone addiction and health anxiety among participants, and found that people with these conditions were more likely to have cyberchondriasis.
Neeraj clarifies that not all who checked health information online had cyberchondriasis. Of all participants, 14% reported checking health information online regularly but without symptoms like distress and anxiety.
"Cyberchondriasis is now coming up as a major public health issue. In addition to feeling distressed, the person may change doctors frequently or their inputs may affect their relationship with doctors. They may also self-diagnose and try out remedies," says Dr Manoj Kumar, co-guide of the study who also heads Nimhans' Service for Health Use of Technology (SHUT). Neeraj says that solutions include creating awareness in the community about cyberchondriasis, and better disclosure in websites about the limitations in their information.