Survey finds half of people in the UK self-diagnose conditions online

Nearly half of people in the UK have used online health information to self-diagnose, according to a new survey from the multinational insurance company AXA which called for stronger regulation of online health content and more health education.

Surprisingly, people aged between 35 and 44 were the most likely to self-diagnose a condition rather than people aged between 16 and 24 (Generation Z). 

Among the 4,000 survey respondents in the UK, 36 per cent said they used digital tools to diagnose themselves because they were unable to get an appointment through the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) in a timely manner.

Minor conditions such as “hay fever, sunburn and common colds” are among the most self-diagnosed, the survey found.

That’s followed by mental health conditions, which nearly a third of respondents said they “self-diagnosed”. 

However, this proportion increased to nearly one person out of two for those aged between 16 and 24. 

“This finding underlines a demand for accessible and trustworthy mental health resources,” Heather Smith, CEO of Axa Health, told Euronews Health.

She added that different solutions could be implemented to tackle this issue such as increasing the availability of mental health support within educational institutions or “strengthening pathways between digital self-assessment tools and professional mental health services”.

Strong guidelines needed for health information online

The survey also found that people want reliable sources of health information, with 55 per cent of respondents reporting relying on the NHS website. 

The other sources were Google and for a quarter of respondents, symptom checkers, which are “health technologies that enable patients to input their symptoms to produce a set of likely diagnoses and associated triage advice”.

“Digital tools can empower individuals to take proactive steps to manage their health, with many using self-diagnosis as the first step in their healthcare journey,” Smith said. 

“However, it is important that this trend is accompanied by stronger regulation of online health content and increased focus on health education to ensure safe and accurate use of self-diagnosis tools,” she added.

The survey found that fewer than a third of people diagnosed themselves using social media, including TikTok, Instagram, X, Reddit, and Facebook. Social media sites were also twice as likely to be used as a source of information for diagnosing a mental health condition than for a physical condition.

“Public education campaigns to help people distinguish reliable sources from misinformation, coupled with clear guidance on next steps when using self-diagnosis tools, could further reduce uncertainty,” Smith said.