Do Not Browse Wikipedia to Diagnose Your Illnesses: Researchers

Do not self diagnose your health conditions using Wikipedia, warns U.S. scientists.

Wikipedia is a commonly referred website on the Internet with more than 31 million entries of which nearly 20,000 are health related available in 285 languages. A recent review by Campbell University found errors in nine in ten entries on 10 most expensive medical and health conditions like heart diseases, lung cancer, hypertension, diabetes and other illnesses. Unlike medical journals and other encyclopedias, information on this website is regularly updated and edited thus, having more scope for factual errors and mistakes.

The current research examined the content on the website to note its reliability in furnishing correct details and identified faults in 90 percent of the Wikipedia entries on diseases, reports the BBC News.

Alarmed by these findings, experts urge people to seek health advices from doctors and healthcare providers instead of simply browsing for symptoms, medication and treatment for their ailments on Wikipedia.

"While Wikipedia is a convenient tool for conducting research, from a public health standpoint patients should not use it as a primary resource because those articles do not go through the same peer-review process as medical journals," said Robert Hasty, study author and  researcher from the Campbell University , reports the BBC.

The website was launched in 2001 and by 2007; it was ranked as one of the 10 most popular websites in the world. Lately, it is the sixth most visited website.

According to the study reports, nearly 70 percent of medical students and practitioners vastly depend on the website for reference.  

"Physicians and medical students who currently use Wikipedia as a medical reference should be discouraged from doing so because of the potential for errors," wrote the authors cautioning wiki followers that even a minor error can major health implications.

The results call on the need to review and edit online entries particularly for health and medicine topics to avoid adverse consequences. Wikipedia is reportedly working with Cancer Research UK to re-assess cancer-related entries and update them with accurate data.

"However, it is crucial that anybody with concerns over their health contacts their GP as a first point of call. Wikipedia, like any encyclopedia, should not take the place of a qualified medical practitioner," said Stevie Benton, head of external relations in Wikipedia, U.K., reports the BBC.

More information is available online in the Journal of American Osteopathic Association.