Predictors of Illness Behavior in Turkish Women with Cardiovascular Disease: The Role of Health Anxiety and Cyberchondria.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine whether illness behavior in women with cardiovascular disease varied based on specific sociodemographic characteristics and to explore the effect of health anxiety and cyberchondria on the level of illness behavior. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 255 women with cardiovascular disease who applied to the cardiology outpatient clinic of a state hospital in Turkey between June and August 2023. Data were collected using personal information forms, such as the Scale for the Assessment of Illness Behavior, Health Anxiety Scale, and Cyberchondria Severity Scale. The data were analyzed using ANOVA, t-test, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical linear regression. The study determined that the participants' illness behavior levels differed according to some sociodemographic characteristics (p < .05). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that education above university level (β = - 0.276), rhythm disorder diagnosis (β = - 0.100), health anxiety (β = - 0.441), and cyberchondria (β = - 0.141) were predictors of illness behavior (p < .05). These variables explained 40% of the variance in illness behavior. Sociodemographic characteristics, health anxiety, and cyberchondria should be considered when planning health services for women with heart disease to reduce abnormal illness behavior.