Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year
: 2022  |  Volume : 10  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 200--206

Prevalence and predictors of cyberchondria and depression amid COVID-19 pandemic in adult population of Uttar Pradesh, India


Saumya P Srivastava1, Surya Kant Tiwari2, Monika Negi3 
1 Vivekananda College of Nursing, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
2 Yatharth Nursing College and Paramedical Institute, Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, India
3 All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Correspondence Address:
Mr. Surya Kant Tiwari
Yatharth Nursing College and Paramedical Institute, Chandauli - 232 104, Uttar Pradesh
India

Background and Aim: COVID-19 pandemic and related measures of containment such as lockdown led to heavy reliance on Internet for education and leisure activities. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of cyberchondria and depression amid COVID-19 pandemic among adult population of Uttar Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: A web-based study was conducted among 236 adult participants of Uttar Pradesh during August–November 2021. Standardized tools including Cyberchondria Severity Scale-short version (CSS-SV) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were used for eliciting details about cyberchondria and depression. Results: The study highlighted that the cyberchondria cluster comprised 45.3% of participants. Subscale score distribution of CSS-SV was found to be the highest (7.53 ± 2.98) for excessiveness and the lowest (6.40 ± 2.93) for compulsion subscale. Furthermore, majority (56.4%) of the participants had depression in various severities. Multivariate logistic regression analysis predicted factors such as female gender, health-care worker, and duration of watching TV and smartphone usage to be influencing cyberchondria. Strong influence of duration spent (>6 h/day) in watching TV, etc., was found on depression. Conclusion: Cyberchondria and its association with depression are indeed growing health concerns; efforts should be directed toward controlled Internet usage, which involves adhering to credible sources for authentic health-related information.


How to cite this article:
Srivastava SP, Tiwari SK, Negi M. Prevalence and predictors of cyberchondria and depression amid COVID-19 pandemic in adult population of Uttar Pradesh, India.Arch Med Health Sci 2022;10:200-206


How to cite this URL:
Srivastava SP, Tiwari SK, Negi M. Prevalence and predictors of cyberchondria and depression amid COVID-19 pandemic in adult population of Uttar Pradesh, India. Arch Med Health Sci [serial online] 2022 [cited 2023 Mar 29 ];10:200-206
Available from: https://www.amhsjournal.org/article.asp?issn=2321-4848;year=2022;volume=10;issue=2;spage=200;epage=206;aulast=Srivastava;type=0