Table 4.

Association of characteristics with online health information seeking.

Characteristics			Online health information seeking, adjusted odds ratio (95% CIa)
Chronic conditions
	Cancer
		No	Reference
		Yes	2.19 (1.47-3.27)
	Diabetes or high blood sugar
		No	Reference
		Yes	1.07 (0.73-1.56)
	Hypertension or high blood pressure
		No	Reference
		Yes	1.10 (0.87-1.38)
	Heart condition
		No	Reference
		Yes	1.47 (0.92-2.35)
	Cerebrovascular diseases including stroke
		No	Reference
		Yes	0.53 (0.19-1.51)
	Chronic lung disease
		No	Reference
		Yes	1.20 (0.88-1.65)
	Arthritis or rheumatism
		No	Reference
		Yes	1.30 (0.78-2.17)
	Depression or anxiety disorder
		No	Reference
		Yes	2.27 (1.46-3.53)
Sociodemographic variables and other variables
	Sex
		Men	Reference
		Women	1.56 (1.25-1.94)
	Age groups (years)
		20-29	Reference
		30-39	0.90 (0.59-1.37)
		40-49	0.67 (0.46-0.98)
		50-59	0.57 (0.38-0.85)
		60-69	0.52 (0.35-0.78)
		≥70	0.32 (0.20-0.50)
	Education status
		≤High school graduate	Reference
		Career college/junior college	1.24 (0.96-1.60)
		≥College graduate	1.55 (1.23-1.95)
	Work
		No	Reference
		Yes	1.18 (0.91-1.53)
	Marital status
		Not married	Reference
		Married	1.27 (1.00-1.61)
	Household income (million yenb)
		<2	Reference
		2 to <4	0.77 (0.47-1.25)
		4 to <6	1.02 (0.62-1.67)
		6 to <8	1.01 (0.60-1.70)
		8 to <10	0.86 (0.50-1.48)
		≥10	1.01 (0.59-1.74)
		No answer	0.40 (0.19-0.86)
	Health literacy
		5-15	Reference
		16-18	1.82 (1.38-2.41)
		19-20	1.97 (1.52-2.57)
		≥21	3.12 (2.17-4.50)
	Self-reported health status
		Excellent, very-good, good	Reference
		Fair-poor	1.63 (1.26-2.12)

^aMultivariable logistic regression model adjusted for all variables.

^bUS $1=JPY 105.9.