Prevalence and awareness of nosophobia among undergraduate medical students: A survey

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Studying illnesses during medical school increases the likelihood of experiencing anxiety or other illnesses characterized by an irrational and continuous fear of getting a catastrophic medical condition, termed nosophobia. Medical students are more likely to acquire nosophobia due to greater exposure to clinical and medical content as well as stress from their demanding course loads. Occasionally, a mind that has been trained to seek for symptoms and analyze situations from a professional standpoint could end up paying unnecessary attention to small details, which can cause concern. This study was conducted to investigated the prevalence of this phenomena and determine its awareness among undergraduate medical students and to provide a clear conceptual understanding of nosophobia,and educate individuals about its impact on students throughout medical school.