Cyberchondria severity in multiple sclerosis: the role of sociodemographic and clinical factors

Cyberchondria is defined as a state of anxiety and distress arising from excessive or repetitive online searching for health-related medical information. With ongoing technological advances and increasing ease of access to information, cyberchondria has become an increasingly important concept. We aimed to investigate the demographic and clinical factors associated with cyberchondria severity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Sociodemographic characteristics, MS-related clinical features, and scores on the Cyberchondria Severity Scale-Short Form (CSS-12), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) of patients with MS were recorded.

A total of 357 patients with MS (257 women and 100 men) were included. Total CSS-12 scores were significantly higher in patients aged < 40 years (p = 0.027), in those with a higher educational level (p < 0.001), in single patients than in married patients (p < 0.001), and in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) than in those with progressive MS (p = 0.040). CSS-12 scores were also significantly higher in patients with BAI scores ≥ 16 and BDI scores ≥ 17 (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). In multiple linear regression analysis, educational level, marital status, BAI score, and BDI score were identified as independent factors associated with CSS-12 scores (p = 0.002, p = 0.016, p = 0.001, and p = 0.002, respectively). CSS-12 scores showed a negative correlation with age (r = -0.145, p = 0.006) and positive correlations with BAI scores (r = 0.321, p < 0.001) and BDI scores (r = 0.329, p < 0.001). Among CSS-12 subscales, excessiveness had the highest mean score, followed by distress.

Our findings suggest that sociodemographic factors rather than disease-related clinical features may represent risk factors for cyberchondria in patients with MS. They also highlight a likely bidirectional relationship between cyberchondria and states of anxiety and depression.