Beyond the Surface: An Investigation of the Prevalence of Health Anxiety and Cyberchondria Among Undergraduate Health Science and Non-Health Science Students

Health anxiety is the stress associated with arbitrary somatic symptoms. In turn, repetitive internet searching of symptoms is referred to as cyberchondria. Health science students may be at particular risk for the development of health anxiety and cyberchondria due to studying health information and extended internet usage. This study aimed to distinguish the prevalence of health anxiety and cyberchondria among 93 undergraduate students with high and low exposure to health science courses. Students that have taken one or more health science courses showed significantly more health anxiety and cyberchondria than those who had not taken health science classes. By recognizing this as a normal phenomenon, awareness and education may help alleviate health science students’ anxiety.