Table 2.

Types of use of social media by patients for health related purposes by article

Type of use		Article no.
Social support	Emotional support	[1, 13, 16, 21–23, 25, 26, 30, 34–36, 40]
	Esteem support	[14, 16, 23–25, 30, 39]
	Information support	All articles
	Network support	[1, 14–16, 21, 24–28, 34, 36, 39]
Other types of use	Emotional expression	[13–15, 21, 24–26, 38]
	Social comparison	[23, 25, 35, 39]