COVID-19 symptoms, internet information seeking, and stigma influence post-lockdown health anxiety

Abstract

BackgroundWith the lifting of Zero-COVID policies in China, rapid transmission of the virus has led to new challenges for patients’ health anxiety. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between COVID-19 symptoms and health anxiety, as well as the mediation paths between them in individuals infected with COVID-19.MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2022, following the relaxation of anti-COVID measures in China. A validated online questionnaire was used to collect data from COVID-19 patients on the number and severity of symptoms, health anxiety, internet health information-seeking behavior (IHISB), and perceived stigma. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediation model in which COVID-19 symptoms would affect health anxiety via IHISB and perceived stigma.ResultsOverall, 1,132 participants (women, 67.6%) were included, with a mean (SD) age of 28.12 (10.07) years. Participants had an average of seven COVID-19 symptoms, with cough (91.3%), nasal congestion (89.1%) and fatigue (87.8%) being the most common. The number and severity of COVID-19 symptoms, IHISB, perceived stigma, and health anxiety were positively correlated with each other after adjusting for covariates (r ranging from 0.10 to 0.81, all p < 0.05). IHISB (effect = 0.14, p < 0.001) and perceived stigma (effect = 0.04, p < 0.001) fully mediated the relationship between COVID-19 symptoms and health anxiety.ConclusionInterventions for health anxiety reduction during and after pandemics should target improving the quality of online health information, enhancing individuals’ online healthy literacy, and reducing stigma.

Unveiling the Influence of TikTok Dependency on University Students’ Post-COVID-19 Health Protective Behavior

“…When they obtain more useful information related to their health, they may pay more attention to their health and adopt health preventive behavior. This finding aligns with previous research highlighting the importance of health information-seeking behaviors in the relationship between social media use and individuals' health protective behavior (Soroya, Rehman & Faiola, 2023;Li et al, 2023).…”

“…Health information-seeking behavior has been found to play a mediator role in previous research. For example, when people have COVID-19 symptoms, they are more inclined to seek online health information which in turn also increases their health anxiety (Li et al, 2023). Similar research has also mentioned that frequent social media use may lead to health information-seeking behavior while it also results in individuals' higher self-care behavior (Soroya, Rehman & Faiola, 2023).…”

Modification of eating habits and lifestyle during COVID-19 in university students from Mexico and Peru

“…In addition, the diet presents alterations with a higher caloric intake of fats and carbohydrates, which has been reported as a coping mechanism to deal with elevated levels of anxiety and stress ( 26 ). This correlates with the social culture in Latin American countries such as Mexico and Peru, which are accustomed to greater closeness and physical contact, and during the pandemic social isolation generated a significant change with detrimental mental effects ( 29 ). Monteiro and Ferreira-Pêgo ( 23 ) found that the “consumption of fries and savories,” “consumption of juices and sugar-sweetened beverages,” and “consumption of alcoholic beverages” had a relevant increase between the normal period and the confinement period during the pandemic.…”