Is There a Relationship Between Online Health Information Seeking and Health Anxiety? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The internet has revolutionized how we live, providing unprecedented convenience and up-to-date information. Consequently, an increasing number of individuals are turning to the internet for health-related information, despite research suggesting a correlation between this behavior and health anxiety. Therefore, drawing on cognitive - behavioral theory, we explore the link between online health information seeking and health anxiety via a systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis, we ran searches in multiple databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Elsevier/Science Direct, Cochrane Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Chinese Database, and Wanfang Data. Our searches identified 16 studies eligible for review, involving 4,920 participants across seven countries. The random-effects meta-analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between online health information seeking and health anxiety (