Mapping the psychology of cyberchondria: A bibliometric analysis of online health information seeking and health anxiety (2009-2025).

AIM: This study aimed to identify, visualize, and reveal trends in research conducted between 2009 and 2025 in the fields of cyberchondria, online health information, and health anxiety.

METHODS

The data for this research were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection database on January 31st, 2026. Performance analysis, visualization, mapping, and bibliometric analyses were performed using the R software Biblioshiny interface. For bibliometric data, searches were performed in the WoS database using the keywords Cyberchondria (Title) AND Online Health Information (All Fields) AND Health Anxiety (All Fields) AND 2025 AND Article OR Review Article (Document Types) AND Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) OR Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) OR Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI).

RESULTS

The analysis revealed a positive and statistically significant upward trend in the number of publications in recent years (β = 1.43, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.72). The author who contributed most to the field was Starcevic V (n = 13), the country with the most publications was the Peoples Republic of China (n = 25), the institution that produced the most publications was the University of Sydney (n = 13), the institution that provided the most funding support was the University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health (n = 13), and the journal with the most publications was the Journal of Anxiety Disorders (n = 7).

CONCLUSION

The thematic evolution diagram of studies in this field shows that cyberchondria research has shifted over time from general anxiety and hypochondria-based approaches to online health information search behavior and subdimensions of health anxiety.