The Relationship of Cyberchondria, Negative Affect, and Anthropometric Indices with Heart-Rate Variability Among Health Sciences Students: A Psychophysiological Study of Digital Health-Information Behavior

Background: We examined whether cyberchondria was associated with resting heart-rate variability (HRV) in health sciences students. Methods: In this cross-sectional study of 600 students in Türkiye, we assessed cyberchondria using the 12-item Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12), negative affect using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), self-reported screen exposure, anthropometry, and five-minute resting HRV. The root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) was the primary physiological outcome. A hierarchical model entered demographics, waist-to-height ratio, and physical activity, then screen exposure and anxiety, followed by CSS-12. Results: CSS-12 correlated inversely with RMSSD (r = −0.412). After covariate adjustment, CSS-12 was associated with lower RMSSD (β = −0.256; p < 0.001), adding 4.9% to explained variance (final adjusted R2 = 0.272). Waist-to-height ratio showed a smaller inverse association (β = −0.087). Overall, the four-factor CSS-12 model fit was good; comparisons between academic programs were unadjusted and exploratory. Conclusions: Higher CSS-12 scores were associated with lower resting RMSSD after adjustment for measured general anxiety and total screen exposure. Health anxiety was not measured; therefore, the model cannot determine whether this association reflects cyberchondria-related behavior, overlapping health anxiety, or other unmeasured psychological and physiological factors. Prospective studies incorporating validated health-anxiety assessment and detailed digital-behavior and HRV measures are needed.