Modern health worries and visits to the general practitioner in a general population sample: an 18month follow-up study

Abstract

Objective: Modern health worries (MHW) are concerns about health risks from features of modern life (e.g. additives in food, contaminated water supply, drug resistant bacteria, etc.). We investigated the role of MHW for care seeking for all purposes at the general practitioner (GP) and studied the role of neuroticism, symptoms of anxiety and somatization, other health anxiety, self-rated health, age, education and gender on the association between MHW and care-seeking.

Methods: A representative sample from eight GPs (n=5068) completed a baseline questionnaire on MHW, symptoms of health and personality, and was followed for visits to the GP for the next 18months in the registers from the GP.

Results: Modern health worries were common, and higher levels were seen among women and in higher age. Care seeking at the GP was associated with MHW, and this association was maintained after adjusting for age, gender, neurotic traits, symptoms of anxiety, somatization, other health anxieties and self-rated health.

Conclusion: Over and beyond health related factors and personality, MHW had an independent role for future visits to the GP in the magnitude of 20% more visits among the participants in the highest quartile of the MHW-scale.