Levels of Cyberchondria in Anxiety Disorder and Depressive Disorder

Background: Cyberchondria refers to an abnormal behavioral pattern in which excessive or repeated online searches for health-related information are distressing or anxiety-provoking. In this study, we aimed to compare the levels of cyberchondria and health anxiety in depressive disorder (DD), anxiety disorder (AD) and healthy volunteers. Methods: 64 patients with AD , 95 patients with DD and 157 healthy volunteers were included according to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. A semi-structured sociodemographic data form, Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS), and the Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) were administered to all participants. Results: The mean age was 36.65 +/- 13.40 years in the AD group, 37.74 +/- 12.59 years in the DD group, and 35.64 +/- 10.56 years in healthy volunteers (p=0.546); 56.6% (n=179) of all participants were female. No significant difference was found among the CSS mean scores of the groups (p=0.655), but there was a significant difference among the total SHAI score averages (p < 0.001). SHAI scores were found to be significantly higher in the AD group and the DD group (respectively p < 0.001, p < 0.001) than among healthy volunteers. SHAI scores were similar in the DD and AD groups (p=0.181). Significant positive correlations were found between CSS and SHAI, and between CSS and time spent on the internet (respectively p=0.001, p=0.001). Conclusions: No difference was found in cyberchondria levels among the groups, and health anxiety was found to be higher in the AD and DD groups than in healthy volunteers in our study. Cyberchondria was found to be associated with health anxiety and the time spent on the internet. Our findings suggest that although cyberchondria and health anxiety have overlapping aspects, they may be two different conditions.