ArticleIndustrial psychiatry journal
Exploring cyberchondria and its associations in dental students amid COVID-19 infodemic.
Article in Industrial psychiatry journal. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-Analysis of Prevalence of Depression in Dental Students during COVID-19 Pandemic.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021Pooled it
- Prevalence of Anxiety in Dental Students during the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Cyberchondria-Related Behaviors Among Undergraduate Female Healthcare Students: A Descriptive and Exploratory Study of CSS-12 Dimensions and Demographic Characteristics.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Trends in the Implementation of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale: Bibliometric Analysis.JMIR mental health · 2026Article
- Impact of Cyberchondria on Health and Quality of Life: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Psychometric properties and factor structure of the short form of the cyberchondria severity scale (CSS-12) amongst Indian adults.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2025Article
- The Relationship Between E-Health Literacy, Health Anxiety, Cyberchondria, and Death Anxiety in University Students That Study in Health Related Department.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Article
- Factors associated with dental students' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study.Brazilian oral research · 2024Article
- Depression and opinion of dental students regarding the hybrid learning model during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC psychology · 2023Article
- Cyberchondria: a Growing Concern During the COVID-19 Pandemic and a Possible Addictive Disorder?Current addiction reports · 2023Review
- Social Support Mediates the Association between Health Anxiety and Quality of Life: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The influence of pessimism on adverse network behavior during COVID-19: the mediating effect of negative affect and risk perception.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2022Article
- New challenges in facing cyberchondria during the coronavirus disease pandemic.Current opinion in behavioral sciences · 2022Review
- Validation of the Korean Version of the Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behaviors Scale During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Psychiatry investigation · 2022Article
- The Portrait of Cyberchondria-A Cross-Sectional Online Study on Factors Related to Health Anxiety and Cyberchondria in Polish Population during SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAdverse psychological effect of pandemic includes not only increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression but also cyberchondria - the problematic online health research behavior. It is thought that the distress and uncertainty of pandemic clubbed with information overload and its ambiguity have paved the way for cyberchondria. Students being the vulnerable population, the present study was an effort at understanding cyberchondria in students.
aimThe aim of the study is to assess cyberchondria and its association with depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life (QOL) in dental students during the pandemic. MATERIALS AND
methodsAn online questionnaire-based survey was carried out on dental students. The survey tool comprised a semi-structured pro forma, General Health Questionnaire-12, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21, Cyberchondria Severity Scale 15, and European Health Interview Survey QOL 8.
resultsThe study revealed that 98.7% of the students were affected by one of the constructs of cyberchondria, viz., "excessiveness" (93.7%), followed by "distress" (84.3%) and "reassurance"-seeking behavior (83.7%). Cyberchondria affected girls more than boys and shared robust positive correlation with depression, anxiety, and stress but not QOL. Factors such as stress, anxiety, QOL, and changes in appetite were associated with higher severity of depression. Family financial losses, preexisting psychiatric illness, and media adverse effect shared robust positive associations with severity of depression, anxiety, and stress and an inverse association with QOL. 76.0% of the students expressed excessive worries regarding missing out on clinical exposure, and nearly half of the students were dissatisfied with eLearning. 78.3% of the students experienced changes in sleep; 68.7% had changes in appetite; and 89.0% reported reduction in the level of physical activity.
conclusionCyberchondria is affecting the large majority of students. Educational institutions must put efforts to sensitize students about cyberchondria.
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