E-ISSN 2231-3206 | ISSN 2320-4672
 

Original Research

Online Publishing Date:
08 / 06 / 2022

 


Cyberchondria in medical students: An observational study

N Simple Santi, Jyoti Prakash Sahoo.


Abstract
Background: Since the beginning of the pandemic, everyone has become aware of their health status. The internet has provided access to feed their curiosity. It has made many individuals hypochondriac and anxious. The hypochondria, due to internet search, is known as cyberchondria.

Aim and Objective: This study aimed to determine the degree of cyberchondria among medical students using the cyberchondria severity scale (CSS).

Materials and Methods: We recruited 763 undergraduate and postgraduate medical students of SCBMCH, Cuttack, for this observational study. We provided them with the printed CSS-15 questionnaire and asked them to fill it out with suitable responses. It had five domains: Excessiveness, distress, compulsion, reassurance, and mistrust. Each of the 15 questions had five options, that is, no way, rarely, sometimes, frequently, and consistently. The responses were ordered from 0 to 4, except for the last domain, where the order was 4–0. We analyzed the collected data using R software (version 4.1.1).

Results: Seven hundred and thirty-two (95.94%) participants with a mean age of 22.73 ± 4.84 years completed the survey. Of them, 548 (74.86%) participants were undergraduate students, and 493 (67.35%) were male. Six hundred and ninety-eight (95.36%) participants were affected by excessiveness, 633 (86.48%) by compulsion, 429 (58.61%) by distress, 307 (41.94%) by reassurance, and 186 (25.41%) by mistrust of a medical professional. The excessiveness domain severely affected 54.23% of participants, followed by distress 32.24%, compulsion 27.05%, reassurance 22.27%, and mistrust 15.57%.

Conclusion: All the study participants were affected by at least one domain of cyberchondria. It has increased their anxiety.

Key words: Cyberchondria; Internet; Anxiety; Hypochondria; Medical Students


 
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How to Cite this Article
Pubmed Style

Santi NS, Sahoo JP. Cyberchondria in medical students: An observational study. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2023; 13(1): 82-84. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05224202202062022


Web Style

Santi NS, Sahoo JP. Cyberchondria in medical students: An observational study. https://www.njppp.com/?mno=41197 [Access: March 15, 2024]. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05224202202062022


AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Santi NS, Sahoo JP. Cyberchondria in medical students: An observational study. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2023; 13(1): 82-84. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05224202202062022



Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Santi NS, Sahoo JP. Cyberchondria in medical students: An observational study. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. (2023), [cited March 15, 2024]; 13(1): 82-84. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05224202202062022



Harvard Style

Santi, N. S. & Sahoo, . J. P. (2023) Cyberchondria in medical students: An observational study. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol, 13 (1), 82-84. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05224202202062022



Turabian Style

Santi, N Simple, and Jyoti Prakash Sahoo. 2023. Cyberchondria in medical students: An observational study. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 13 (1), 82-84. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05224202202062022



Chicago Style

Santi, N Simple, and Jyoti Prakash Sahoo. "Cyberchondria in medical students: An observational study." National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology 13 (2023), 82-84. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05224202202062022



MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Santi, N Simple, and Jyoti Prakash Sahoo. "Cyberchondria in medical students: An observational study." National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology 13.1 (2023), 82-84. Print. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05224202202062022



APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Santi, N. S. & Sahoo, . J. P. (2023) Cyberchondria in medical students: An observational study. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 13 (1), 82-84. doi:10.5455/njppp.2023.13.05224202202062022