A growing trend of self-diagnosing illnesses online is raising concerns among health experts, with a new study revealing that flu, ADHD, and depression top the list of conditions people attempt to identify without professional help. The research, conducted by online mental health platform MEDvidi, underscores the risks of relying on internet searches over medical consultations, warning that such practices can harm mental and physical health.
MEDvidi’s study analysed search volumes for 3,663 keywords related to hypochondria, self-diagnosis, and illness symptoms, including terms like “virus symptoms,” “health anxiety,” and “symptom checker.” Using Google Keyword Planner data from January to December 2024, the research calculated average monthly search volumes to rank the most commonly self-diagnosed conditions.
With an average monthly search volume of 438,432, flu-related searches dominate, driven by terms such as “flu symptoms,” “flu signs,” and “adult flu symptoms.” ADHD follows in second place with 325,548 searches, notably including “ADHD symptoms in women,” despite higher diagnosis rates among men. Depression ranks third with 286,666 searches, with “depression test” and “signs of depression” among the top terms. Other conditions frequently searched include gout (228,088), prostate cancer (226,056), and COVID-19 (222,498).
The top 20 illnesses searched for self-diagnosis
- Flu: 438,432
- ADHD: 325,548
- Depression: 286,666
- Gout: 228,088
- Prostate Cancer: 226,056
- COVID-19: 222,498
- Skin cancer: 217,051
- MS: 205,070
- Anxiety: 192,613
- GERD: 188,776
- ASD: 177,593
- Kidney disease: 167,338
- Herpes: 165,638
- ALS: 161,352
- Bipolar disorder: 127,282
- ADD: 124,495
- Porn addiction: 116,760
- Asthma: 115,442
- Hepatitis C: 107,381
- Lung cancer: 103,565
Dr Michael Chichak, medical director at MEDvidi, warned of the dangers associated with self-diagnosis. “While it’s great to have a certain level of awareness when it comes to medical symptoms, particularly for easily transmittable illnesses such as flu and COVID-19, self-diagnosis can often cause more harm than good,” he said. “If you think your symptoms match a particular illness, then your first point of contact should be your doctor. This will then enable you to receive answers once relevant and thorough tests have been carried out, as opposed to falling into a spiral after looking up your symptoms online.”
Dr Chichak highlighted the mental health toll of online self-diagnosis. “Using the internet to self-diagnose illnesses can significantly impact your mental health, increasing levels of anxiety and stress,” he noted. “This can make you more prone to the physical symptoms of stress, such as headaches, nausea, and fatigue, ultimately trapping you in a vicious cycle of self-diagnosis.”
The study also pointed to a troubling trend among younger people. A recent report by AXA Health found that over two million young individuals have self-diagnosed mental health conditions based on social media advice. Dr Chichak added: “Thanks to the internet, people can easily misinterpret mood swings as depression, or a lack of concentration as ADHD. This is why it’s so important that people understand the dangers associated with ‘DIY diagnosis’ and endlessly looking up medical symptoms online without consulting a medical professional.”
The accessibility of platforms like WebMD and Mayo Clinic, alongside generic “symptom checker” tools, has fuelled this trend. Searches for terms like “diagnose me,” “medical symptoms,” and “why do I feel nauseous” reflect a reliance on online resources over professional advice. The study’s methodology included a broad range of search terms, from “do I have [diagnosis]” to “early signs of [diagnosis],” capturing the extent of public interest in self-diagnosis.
