ReviewHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2026
Alexithymia and Cyberchondria: A Scoping Review with Implications for Healthcare Contexts.
Review in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCyberchondria is characterized by compulsive online health information seeking with additional psychological characteristics of behavioral addictions. Alexithymia, a transdiagnostic factor, is associated with difficulties in recognizing and differentiating emotions from bodily sensations. These characteristics may facilitate cyberchondria as a maladaptive strategy employed to cope with health anxiety. The present scoping review aims to examine the evidence regarding the association between alexithymia and cyberchondria.
methodsThe scoping review was performed in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A comprehensive search of major databases (i.e., PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) and grey literature sources (i.e., ProQuest and Google Scholar) was conducted. Data extraction was centered on the study's design, the characteristics of the sample, the tools utilized, the primary findings, and other relevant variables.
resultsA total of 139 records were identified from the databases, and four studies met the inclusion criteria. An additional study was selected from grey literature. The included studies involved different populations, including healthcare workers, university students, and patients with chronic conditions. Across these populations, a significant association between alexithymia and cyberchondria was consistently reported, considering both total scores and their respective dimensions. Furthermore, alexithymia mediated or moderated the relationship between other psychological factors (e.g., perceived stress, somatosensory amplification) and cyberchondria.
conclusionsThe scoping review revealed limited but growing research indicating the potential influence of alexithymia on cyberchondria, with implications for clinical and healthcare contexts. The findings also highlighted gaps in the literature and the need for further research in this area.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.