ROCHESTER, N.Y., July 16 (UPI) -- The number of U.S. adults who have gone online to look for health information has increased to about 117 million, up from about 111 million last year.
The main reason for the increase in "cyberchondriacs" seems to be that the total number of Internet users has been increasing -- from 69 percent of all U.S. adults in 2004 to 74 percent currently, according to Harris Interactive.
Cyberchondriacs now represent 72 percent of all online adults, down slightly from last year's 74 percent -- according to the nationwide Harris Poll of 1,015 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone.
Compared to last year, online adults appear to be searching the Internet for health-related information more frequently -- 58 percent say they have looked for information about health topics, an increase of 8 percent from 2004.
On average, a cyberchondriac searches the Internet almost seven times per month, an increase from five times per month a year ago.
