Addiction to medical websites post COVID-19 pandemic: a predictor of illness anxiety disorder among Arabian youth

Abstract

Abstract Background The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted every region of the world. During these unprecedented times, college students have been experiencing severe mental health issues concerning excessive internet usage. On average, 42.9% of students in Egypt utilized the internet (Anwar et al. in J Public Health 30:1753–1762, 2022). Arabs quickly diagnose themselves online using medical websites. The issue is exacerbated by drugs bought without a prescription (Alghadeer et al. in Saudi Pharm J 26:719–724, 2018). Methods This study examined he relationship between addiction to medical websites and behaviors related to Illness Anxiety Disorder among a population of Arabic university students. A sample consisting of N = 368 youths was examined. Results Bivariate linear regression, Z score, R2, t-test, ANOVA, mean, and standard deviation were used for statistical analysis. The findings of the study revealed a linear equation that predicts illness anxiety in adolescents. The correlation between medical website addiction and hypochondria was found to be 0.69. Furthermore, male participants were more addicted to medical websites than female participants. Conclusions Findings supported the notion that addiction to medical websites significantly predicts hypochondria.

Keywords

• Illness anxiety disorder
• Hypochondriasis
• COVID-19
• Internet addiction