The Internet Can Be Bad For Your Health

[jeffrey]

People who use the Internet to find information about their chronic disease often wind up in worse condition than if they had listened to their doctor, a British study has found.

Internet users with diabetes understood their conditions better than those who relied on their doctors for information, but they had higher blood sugar levels, researchers found.

"This whole finding confounds conventional wisdom," said Dr. Elizabeth Murray of University College London, lead author of the review of 4,042 people with chronic diseases.

The Internet users did gain in some ways, Dr. Murray reports today. They understood their conditions better than those who listened only to a doctor or clinic staff. They also had stronger feelings of support from others with the same condition -- a result of Internet sites that bring together patients with the same condition.

But there's no evidence that people who do computer research on health matters are any more successful at changing their behaviour. (In the case of diabetics, who formed a large part of the study, they were no better at choosing the right foods.)

And their health was, on average, poorer than people who depended on the doctor for all information. In addition to the diabetics, people with asthma who used the Internet for health information had less control over their asthma... [read more at Canada.com]