Is cyberchondria a new transdiagnostic digital compulsive syndrome? A systematic review of the evidence

Comprehensive Psychiatry
Matteo VismaraNaomi A Fineberg

Abstract

Cyberchondria (CYB) has been described relatively recently as a behaviour characterized by excessive online searching for medical information that is associated with increasing levels of health anxiety. Although CYB has received some attention from researchers, there is no consensus about many of its aspects. We describe one of the first reported cases of a treatment-seeking patient with CYB. We review the published literature on the definition of CYB, its assessment, epidemiology, cost and burden, psychological models and mechanisms associated with CYB, relationships between CYB and mental disorders and prevention and treatment strategies. Systematic review of all peer-reviewed papers published within the PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library databases. 61 articles were selected. Nearly all the studies were descriptive and cross-sectional recruiting sample mainly from the general/university student population and collecting self-report data via online surveys. Data on epidemiology, clinical features, course, comorbidity and therapeutic interventions were scarce. CYB showed a self-reported association with health anxiety, hypochondriasis and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as well as other forms of problematic usage of the...Continue Reading

Citations

Aug 28, 2020·Current Psychiatry Reports·Vladan StarcevicSandra Arnáez
Dec 18, 2020·PloS One·Natasa Jokic-BegicUna Mikac
Dec 29, 2020·Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies·Vladan StarcevicDavid Berle
Nov 17, 2020·Frontiers in Psychology·Alexandra Maftei, Andrei Corneliu Holman
Mar 23, 2021·European Spine Journal : Official Publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society·S RajasekaranMugesh Kanna Rishi
May 18, 2021·Frontiers in Psychiatry·Rahul VarmaTushar Singh
May 21, 2021·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Xue WuMark D Griffiths

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