Satyarup Dharmashree, Panda Sailaja, Nagarajappa Ramesh, Mohapatra Upasana
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan, (Deemed to be University), Sum Hospital Rd, Shampur, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
Dhruva Dental Care, Kasavanahalli, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2023;74(1):83-91. doi: 10.32394/rpzh.2023.0241.
Internet can act as an excellent resource for gaining valuable health related information. However, excessive online research and investigation about health-related issues may impose a negative impact. The term cyberchondria is used to describe a clinical condition in which frequent internet searches for health-related information leads to exaggerated anxieties about physical well-being.
To determine the prevalence of cyberchondria and associated factors among the information technology professionals of Bhubaneswar in India.
A cross-sectional study was carried out among 243 software professionals in Bhubaneswar using a previously validated Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-15) questionnaire. Descriptive statistics in terms of number, percentage, mean and standard deviation were presented. Independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance was applied to compare the cyberchondria score between two and more than two independent variables respectively.
From 243 individuals 130 (53.5%) were males and 113 (46.5%) were females with mean age 29.82±6.67 years. The prevalence of cyberchondria severity was found to be 46.5%. The mean cyberchondria score of all study subjects was 43.80±10.62. It was significantly higher among those who spend more than 1 hour in the internet during night, feel fear and anxiety in visiting the doctor or dentist, interested in gaining the health-related information from other resources and agreed that gaining health related information has increased after COVID-19 pandemic (p˂0.05).
Cyberchondria is a growing issue with regard to mental health in developing countries and has the ability to cause anxiety and distress. Appropriate actions must be taken to prevent it on a societal level.
互联网可作为获取有价值的健康相关信息的优质资源。然而，对健康相关问题进行过多的在线研究和调查可能会产生负面影响。“网络疑病症”一词用于描述一种临床状况，即频繁在网上搜索健康相关信息会导致对身体健康的过度焦虑。
确定印度布巴内斯瓦尔信息技术专业人员中网络疑病症的患病率及相关因素。
使用先前验证的网络疑病症严重程度量表（CSS - 15）问卷，对布巴内斯瓦尔的243名软件专业人员进行了横断面研究。呈现了数量、百分比、均值和标准差方面的描述性统计数据。分别应用独立样本t检验和单因素方差分析来比较两个及两个以上独立变量之间的网络疑病症得分。
243名个体中，男性130名（53.5%），女性113名（46.5%），平均年龄29.82±6.67岁。发现网络疑病症严重程度的患病率为46.5%。所有研究对象的网络疑病症平均得分为43.80±10.62。在夜间上网时间超过1小时、看医生或牙医时感到恐惧和焦虑、有兴趣从其他资源获取健康相关信息以及认同在新冠疫情后获取健康相关信息有所增加的人群中，该得分显著更高（p˂0.05）。
在发展中国家，网络疑病症是一个日益严重的心理健康问题，有引发焦虑和困扰的可能。必须在社会层面采取适当行动加以预防。
