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Behavioral Sciences
By Tuğçe Orkun Erkılıç, Bülent Bayraktar and Seda Çelikel Taşci.
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We examined whether cyberchondria was associated with resting heart-rate variability (HRV) in health sciences students.
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.
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.
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.
Published in Behavioral Sciences. The abstract is shown as published and remains the work of its authors; read the full article at the source.
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