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.
- 1Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Bayburt University, Bayburt 69000, Türkiye.
- 2Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Bayburt University, Bayburt 69000, Türkiye.
- 3Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Erzurum Technical University, Erzurum 25000, Türkiye.
Abstract
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.
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BibTeX
@article{erkılıc2026relationship,
title = {{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.}},
author = {Tuğçe Orkun Erkılıç and Bülent Bayraktar and Seda Çelikel Taşci},
journal = {Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/bs16101759},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42938478},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - 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.
AU - Tuğçe Orkun Erkılıç
AU - Bülent Bayraktar
AU - Seda Çelikel Taşci
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
JO - Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/bs16101759
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42938478
AB - 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.
SN - 2076-328X
ER -