Abstract
Objective
This study aims to establish cut-off points for the Cyberchondria Severity Scale – 12 item version (CSS-12) to enhance its clinical and research use. Addressing this gap is essential for improving the diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of cyberchondria (CYB), ultimately benefiting affected individuals.
Methods
Data used in this study obtained from a cross-sectional and web-based survey to investigate the CYB in general Chinese population. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the association between measures. receiver operating characteristic curve was used to estimate the cut-off value of CSS-12 and to assess their sensitivity and specificity for identifying “No CYB” and “with CYB” based on the score of GAD-7 and PHQ-9, respectively.
Results
A total of 1154 individuals, who completed CSS-12, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 were included in the data analysis. The correlations among these measures were moderate to strong and statistically significant (r = 0.37 and 0.40). The cut-off values for CSS-12 were calculated to be 36 for with CYB vs. without CYB based on GAD-7 (sensitivity, 85.2%; specificity, 55.3%; AUC, 0.69) and PHQ-9 (sensitivity, 81.4%; specificity, 51.8%; AUC, 0.67).
Conclusion
The CSS-12 cut-off value was determined in this study. This threshold enhances the specificity of CSS-12 utilization, thereby facilitating more accurate identification and management of CYB.