Early diagnosis is often helpful when treating diseases, as most medical experts would agree. Some social platforms are going overboard, however, and endorsing unnecessary and unproven diagnostic tests, an Australian study finds.

Media influencers are using fear mongering and frightening personal narratives to promote controversial medical tests to their followers. Not only is it sometimes true that that these tests are not effective, they can lead to misdiagnosis in healthy people. Some of these tests may also be risky.

Researchers from the University of Sydney looked at five health tests often promoted by influencers:

Ask yourself whether the post is just passing along information or if the influencer is trying to convince you of something.

    1. A gut microbiome test claiming to measure the health of the gut, even though this test is in its early stages and has not been proven.
    2. Genetic testing claiming to identify early signs of 50 types of cancer.
    3. The anti-Mullerian hormone or so-called “egg-timer” test which promises to predict a woman's chance of conceiving by surveying her egg count.
    4. A testosterone test measuring a man's level of testosterone and leading to unnecessary testosterone supplements.
    5. Full-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) looking for anything.

The Australian researchers identified 100 posts for each of these tests on Instagram and TikTok. Excluded from consideration were posts from accounts with fewer than a thousand followers and those in languages other than English. Then they analyzed the remaining 982 social media posts from account holders with more than 194 million total followers.

The diagnostic tests are promoted under the guise of empowerment — early screening as a way for people to take control of their own health, lead author Brooke Nickel, a Research Fellow in The University of Sydney School of Public Health, explained. But the posts are designed to create fear and anxiety and encourage unnecessary testing.

“These tests carry the potential for healthy people to receive unnecessary diagnoses which could lead to unnecessary medical treatment or impact mental health,” Nickel noted in a press release. Particularly striking, Nickel said, are the “really personal narratives” recounted. “Fearmongering that if you don't do this test, you're not taking care of your own health.”

For instance, the microbiome test is in its very early stages and is not yet proven. Yet one influencer with an Instagram account with over 65,000 followers wrote “These tests will let us know with CERTAINTY what is causing your health concerns.”

The tests are promoted under the guise of empowerment: early screening as a way for people to take control of their own health. But they are really designed to instill fear and anxiety and encourage unwarranted testing.

In addition to the misdiagnoses and psychological stress the unnecessary tests can cause, the tests are pricey; and their results can lead to other unnecessary procedures. Women who receive low results on their egg-survey may, for example, experience high anxiety and decide to choose elective egg freezing or IVF — for no reason.

If you find a social media post promoting a medical test, ask yourself whether it's just passing along information or if the influencer is trying to convince you of something. Before committing to any diagnostic test, speak with your healthcare provider to be sure it's a legitimate diagnostic tool. Many health insurers will require this step.

The study is published in JAMA Network Open.