ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2021
Relationship Between Internet Use and Change in Health Status: Panel Study of Young Adults.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Evaluating online nutrition information: a scoping review of young adults' source preferences and criteria for credibility and trustworthiness.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Pooled it
- Patient activation and self-management in patients with coronary heart disease: the mediating role of eHealth literacy.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Comparative analysis of large language models in providing patient information about keratoconus and contact lenses.International ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Age-differentiated impacts of digital health literacy and anxiety syndrome on hypochondriasis during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea: a cross-sectional study.Journal of Korean biological nursing science · 2025Article
- eHealth literacy in a migrant community and its association with chronic disease.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- How digital health literacy shapes health: Mediating role of physical activity and heterogeneity in China.PloS one · 2025Article
- The impact of internet use on health investment behavior among middle-aged and elderly people: evidence from China.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- The effect of internet use on the health of middle-aged and older adults: evidences from China general social survey.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Relationship and mechanisms between internet use and physical exercise among middle- and younger-aged groups.PloS one · 2024Article
- Translation, cultural adaptation and validity assessment of the Dutch version of the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire: a mixed-method approach.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Does Internet Use Impact the Health Status of Middle-Aged and Older Populations? Evidence from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
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3 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundUsing the internet for health information is a widespread phenomenon documented in considerable scholarship. Less common, however, is the analysis of panel data to examine how internet use may relate to change in health status over time.
objectiveThis study examines whether internet use and internet use related to health are associated with a change in health status among young adults.
methodsWe used a unique panel survey data set collected about young adults' internet use in 2012 and 2016 (n=384). We applied logistic regression to examine the relationships between sociodemographics, internet experiences, frequency of health-related internet use, and sharing health content online with change in health status over time. We additionally examined the variables characterizing sharing health content online (via Facebook, Twitter, and email) in separate models.
resultsIn the second wave, over half (236/384, 61.5%) of the sample used the internet for health at least weekly. Approximately one-third (141/384, 36.7%) used Facebook for health-content sharing, while using Twitter and email for sharing health content were far less frequent (14/384, 3.6%, and 55/384, 14.3%, respectively). A change in health status occurred for 43.0% (165/384) of the sample; 18.5% (71/384) reported an improvement while 24.5% (94/384) reported a decline. Greater frequency of internet use was associated with health decline over time (B=-0.58, P=.02). We also found that frequent health-related internet use was related to enhanced health or maintained health (B=0.58, P=.03). Sharing health content on social media or email, however, was not related to young adults' health changes.
conclusionsYoung adults exhibit a pattern of using the internet for health that influences their health status. Our finding that frequent health-related internet use may promote improved or maintained health suggests that this type of online activity might also support healthy living.
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