The association between health anxiety, physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population – a cross-sectional analysis from the Tromsø study: Tromsø 7
Abstract Background Health anxiety (HA) is defined as a worry of disease. An association between HA and mental illness has been reported, but few have looked at the association between HA and physical disease. Objective To examine the association between HA and number of diseases, different disease...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-06-01
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| Series: | BMC Primary Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-022-01749-0 |
| _version_ | 1817968971883741184 |
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| author | Anja Davis Norbye Birgit Abelsen Olav Helge Førde Unni Ringberg |
| author_facet | Anja Davis Norbye Birgit Abelsen Olav Helge Førde Unni Ringberg |
| author_sort | Anja Davis Norbye |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Health anxiety (HA) is defined as a worry of disease. An association between HA and mental illness has been reported, but few have looked at the association between HA and physical disease. Objective To examine the association between HA and number of diseases, different disease categories and cardiovascular risk factors in a large sample of the general population. Methods This study used cross-sectional data from 18,432 participants aged 40 years or older in the seventh survey of the Tromsø study. HA was measured using a revised version of the Whiteley Index-6 (WI-6-R). Participants reported previous and current status regarding a variety of different diseases. We performed exponential regression analyses looking at the independent variables 1) number of diseases, 2) disease category (cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or kidney disease, respiratory disease, rheumatism, and migraine), and 3) cardiovascular risk factors (high blood pressure or use of cholesterol- or blood pressure lowering medication). Results Compared to the healthy reference group, number of diseases, different disease categories, and cardiovascular risk factors were consistently associated with higher HA scores. Most previous diseases were also significantly associated with increased HA score. People with current cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes or kidney disease had the highest HA scores, being 109, 50, and 60% higher than the reference group, respectively. Conclusion In our general adult population, we found consistent associations between HA, as a continuous measure, and physical disease, all disease categories measured and cardiovascular risk factors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T20:15:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-63b9f0180b104f67bcb7f3347630534b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2731-4553 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T20:15:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Primary Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-63b9f0180b104f67bcb7f3347630534b2022-12-22T02:31:44ZengBMCBMC Primary Care2731-45532022-06-0123111010.1186/s12875-022-01749-0The association between health anxiety, physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population – a cross-sectional analysis from the Tromsø study: Tromsø 7Anja Davis Norbye0Birgit Abelsen1Olav Helge Førde2Unni Ringberg3Department of Community Medicine, UiT the Arctic University of NorwayDepartment of Community Medicine, UiT the Arctic University of NorwayDepartment of Community Medicine, UiT the Arctic University of NorwayDepartment of Community Medicine, UiT the Arctic University of NorwayAbstract Background Health anxiety (HA) is defined as a worry of disease. An association between HA and mental illness has been reported, but few have looked at the association between HA and physical disease. Objective To examine the association between HA and number of diseases, different disease categories and cardiovascular risk factors in a large sample of the general population. Methods This study used cross-sectional data from 18,432 participants aged 40 years or older in the seventh survey of the Tromsø study. HA was measured using a revised version of the Whiteley Index-6 (WI-6-R). Participants reported previous and current status regarding a variety of different diseases. We performed exponential regression analyses looking at the independent variables 1) number of diseases, 2) disease category (cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or kidney disease, respiratory disease, rheumatism, and migraine), and 3) cardiovascular risk factors (high blood pressure or use of cholesterol- or blood pressure lowering medication). Results Compared to the healthy reference group, number of diseases, different disease categories, and cardiovascular risk factors were consistently associated with higher HA scores. Most previous diseases were also significantly associated with increased HA score. People with current cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes or kidney disease had the highest HA scores, being 109, 50, and 60% higher than the reference group, respectively. Conclusion In our general adult population, we found consistent associations between HA, as a continuous measure, and physical disease, all disease categories measured and cardiovascular risk factors.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-022-01749-0Health anxietyWhiteley indexEpidemiologyChronic diseasesCardiovascular risk factors |
| spellingShingle | Anja Davis Norbye Birgit Abelsen Olav Helge Førde Unni Ringberg The association between health anxiety, physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population – a cross-sectional analysis from the Tromsø study: Tromsø 7 BMC Primary Care Health anxiety Whiteley index Epidemiology Chronic diseases Cardiovascular risk factors |
| title | The association between health anxiety, physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population – a cross-sectional analysis from the Tromsø study: Tromsø 7 |
| title_full | The association between health anxiety, physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population – a cross-sectional analysis from the Tromsø study: Tromsø 7 |
| title_fullStr | The association between health anxiety, physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population – a cross-sectional analysis from the Tromsø study: Tromsø 7 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The association between health anxiety, physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population – a cross-sectional analysis from the Tromsø study: Tromsø 7 |
| title_short | The association between health anxiety, physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population – a cross-sectional analysis from the Tromsø study: Tromsø 7 |
| title_sort | association between health anxiety physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population a cross sectional analysis from the tromso study tromso 7 |
| topic | Health anxiety Whiteley index Epidemiology Chronic diseases Cardiovascular risk factors |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-022-01749-0 |
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