Department of Community Medicine, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Postbox 6050 Langnes, 9037 Tromsø, Norway.
Psychol Med. 2022 Sep;52(12):2255-2262. doi: 10.1017/S0033291720004122. Epub 2020 Nov 13.
Health anxiety (HA) is associated with increased risk of disability, increased health care utilization and reduced quality of life. However, there is no consensus on which factors are important for the level of HA. The aim of this study was to explore the distribution of HA in a general adult population and to investigate whether demographic and social factors were associated with HA.
This study used cross-sectional data from the seventh Tromsø study. A total of 18 064 participants aged 40 years or older were included in the analysis. The six-item Whiteley Index (WI-6) with a 5-point Likert scale was used to measure HA. Sociodemographic factors included age, sex, education, household income, quality of friendship and participation in an organized activity.
HA showed an exponential distribution among the participants with a median score of 2 points out of 24 points. In total, 75% had a total score of 5 points or less, whereas 1% had a score >14 points. Education, household income, quality of friendship and participation in organized activity were significantly associated with HA. The variable quality of friendship demonstrated the strongest association with HA.
Our study showed an exponential distribution of HA in a general adult population. There was no evident cut-off point to distinguish participants with severe HA based on their WI-6 score, indicating the importance of analysing HA as a complex, continuous construct. HA demonstrated strong associations with quality of friendship and participation in an organized activity.
健康焦虑（HA）与残疾风险增加、医疗保健利用率增加和生活质量降低有关。然而，对于哪些因素对 HA 水平重要，目前尚无共识。本研究旨在探讨一般成年人群中 HA 的分布，并调查人口统计学和社会因素是否与 HA 有关。
本研究使用了特罗姆瑟第七次研究的横断面数据。共纳入 18064 名年龄在 40 岁及以上的参与者。采用 5 级 Likert 量表的 6 项怀特利指数（WI-6）来衡量 HA。社会人口学因素包括年龄、性别、教育程度、家庭收入、友谊质量和参加有组织的活动。
参与者的 HA 呈指数分布，24 分中的中位数得分为 2 分。共有 75%的参与者总分在 5 分及以下，而 1%的参与者得分超过 14 分。教育程度、家庭收入、友谊质量和参加有组织的活动与 HA 显著相关。友谊质量这一变量与 HA 的相关性最强。
本研究显示，一般成年人群中 HA 呈指数分布。根据 WI-6 评分，没有明显的分界点来区分严重 HA 的参与者，这表明分析 HA 作为一个复杂的、连续的结构的重要性。HA 与友谊质量和参加有组织的活动密切相关。
