Health anxiety and COVID-19: examining changes before and during the pandemic

BACKGROUND: Health anxiety has been expected to increase as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few longitudinal studies have examined health anxiety in the general population during this period. The aim of this study was to longitudinally examine health anxiety before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in an adult, working population in Norway. METHODS: We included 353 participants aged 18-70 years with two or more measurements of health anxiety (743 measurements) from the pre-pandemic period (2015 to 11.03, 2020) and/or during the COVID-19 pandemic (12.03, 2020 - 31.03, 2022). We measured health anxiety with the revised version of the Whiteley Index-6 scale (WI-6-R), and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on health anxiety scores was estimated with a general estimation equation analysis. Age, sex, education, and friendship were included in subgroup analyses. RESULTS: We found no significant change in health anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period in our adult, working population, with a non-significant change of 0.06 points on WI-6-R (95 % CI -0.34 - 0.46). No significant effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on health anxiety scores was found in any subgroup analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Health anxiety remained stable, with no significant change observed between the pre-pandemic period and the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic in an adult, working population in Norway. This corresponds to other longitudinal studies examining mental health in general during the pandemic. The implications from our study can add to public health decision-making and prioritising of healthcare support in times of pandemics, where other consequences of COVID-19, such as social and economic burdens, may require targeted intervention over anxiety about health. KEY MESSAGES: • Health anxiety in an adult, working population remained stable during COVID-19. • Other consequences of the pandemic may require targeted intervention over anxiety about health.