Cyberchondria and quality of life: a cross-sectional study in Brazilian individuals

Abstract

Introduction: Cyberchondria is a newly described entity in which patients recurrently search health information on the internet developing distress and suffering with the obtained information. Objective: To study cyberchondria in a sample of the Brazilian population: its association with epidemiological variables and interference with quality of life. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study, with 948 participants. Three questionnaires were applied through the internet: one epidemiological; the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS) questionnaire and the SF-12 (12-Item Short-Form Health Survey) quality of life (QoL) questionnaire. Results: CSS was weakly and negatively correlated with the age of participants in the subscale “compulsion” (r=-0.08, p=0.01) and “distress” (r=-0.12, p<0.0001). Men had higher scores on “compulsion” (p=0.02). A weak and negative correlation was found between the subscales of “compulsion,” “distress,” “excessiveness” and “reassurance seeking” of CSS and SF-12-physical domains and the subscales of “compulsion” and “distress” with SF-12 mental domain. An independent relationship was found between the male sex (p=0.009), living in rural areas (p=0.002), having less than 10 years of formal education (p<0.0001), and earning less than 5 minimal wages/month (p=0.0002) with the subscale “mistrust of medical professional”. Conclusion: Males and younger individuals have higher levels of compulsion in the CSS than females and the elderly. Mistrust of medical professionals was less common in females, in those living in urban areas, and in those with better education and higher income. Cyberchondria interferes with mental and physical QoL.