Effects of internet use on health and depression: a longitudinal study.
Effects of internet use on health and depression: a longitudinal study.
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DOI：
10.2196/jmir.1149
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发表时间：
2010-02-28
影响因子：
7.4
通讯作者：
Kraut R
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bessière K;Pressman S;Kiesler S;Kraut R
互联网的迅速发展使公众更容易获得医疗信息。大多数关于互联网在保健方面的效用的研究都评价了信息本身的质量或审查了其对临床人群的影响。人们对普通民众使用这种药物的后果知之甚少。一般人群为健康目的使用互联网是否与随后心理健康和心理健康的变化有关？对健康人和病人的影响是否不同？为健康目的使用互联网的影响是否不同于其他类型的互联网使用的影响？数据来自2000年至2002年对740名个人进行的美国全国小组调查。在三项调查中，受访者描述了他们使用互联网的不同目的，表明他们是否患有13种严重疾病中的任何一种（或正在照顾患有严重疾病的人），并报告了他们的抑郁症。在最初和最后的调查中，他们还报告了自己的身体健康状况。滞后因变量回归分析被用来预测抑郁症和一般健康状况的变化，在稍后的调查报告从不同类型的互联网使用的频率在较早的时期，保持不变的抑郁症和一般健康状况，分别。统计交互测试是否使用互联网预测抑郁症和一般健康不同的人谁最初不同的一般健康，慢性疾病和照顾者的地位。与健康相关的互联网使用与抑郁症的小幅但可靠的增加相关（即，出于健康目的，将互联网使用从每周3至5天增加到每天一次，与抑郁症症状的0.11标准差相关，P = 0.002）。相比之下，使用互联网与朋友和家人沟通与抑郁症的小但可靠的减少有关（即，将每周与朋友和家人沟通的互联网使用从3到5天增加到每天一次与抑郁症症状的0.07标准差相关，P = 0.007）。受访者的初始健康状况（P = 0.234）或作为照顾者的角色（P = 0.911）对与健康相关的互联网使用和抑郁症之间的关联没有显着影响。这两种类型的使用都与一般健康状况的变化无关（社会用途P = .705，健康用途P = .494）。出于健康目的使用互联网与抑郁症增加有关。这种增加可能是由于增加反刍，不必要的警报，或过度关注健康问题。此外，那些有未测量的问题或那些更容易健康焦虑的人可能会自我选择在线健康资源。相比之下，使用互联网与朋友和家人沟通与抑郁症的下降有关。这一发现与其他研究结果相当，表明社会支持有利于幸福，并支持互联网是加强和保持社会联系的一种方式。
The rapid expansion of the Internet has increased the ease with which the public can obtain medical information. Most research on the utility of the Internet for health purposes has evaluated the quality of the information itself or examined its impact on clinical populations. Little is known about the consequences of its use by the general population. Is use of the Internet by the general population for health purposes associated with a subsequent change in psychological well-being and health? Are the effects different for healthy versus ill individuals? Does the impact of using the Internet for health purposes differ from the impact of other types of Internet use? Data come from a national US panel survey of 740 individuals conducted from 2000 to 2002. Across three surveys, respondents described their use of the Internet for different purposes, indicated whether they had any of 13 serious illnesses (or were taking care of someone with a serious illness), and reported their depression. In the initial and final surveys they also reported on their physical health. Lagged dependent variable regression analysis was used to predict changes in depression and general health reported on a later survey from frequency of different types of Internet use at an earlier period, holding constant prior depression and general health, respectively. Statistical interactions tested whether uses of the Internet predicted depression and general health differently for people who initially differed on their general health, chronic illness, and caregiver status. Health-related Internet use was associated with small but reliable increases in depression (ie, increasing use of the Internet for health purposes from 3 to 5 days per week to once a day was associated with .11 standard deviations more symptoms of depression, P = .002). In contrast, using the Internet for communication with friends and family was associated with small but reliable decreases in depression (ie, increasing use of the Internet for communication with friends and family purposes from 3 to 5 days per week to once a day was associated with .07 standard deviations fewer symptoms of depression, P = .007). There were no significant effects of respondents’ initial health status (P = .234) or role as a caregiver (P = .911) on the association between health-related Internet use and depression. Neither type of use was associated with changes in general health (P = .705 for social uses and P = .494 for health uses). Using the Internet for health purposes was associated with increased depression. The increase may be due to increased rumination, unnecessary alarm, or over-attention to health problems. Additionally, those with unmeasured problems or those more prone to health anxiety may self-select online health resources. In contrast, using the Internet to communicate with friends and family was associated with declines in depression. This finding is comparable to other studies showing that social support is beneficial for well-being and lends support to the idea that the Internet is a way to strengthen and maintain social ties.