Facebook Profiles Help Predict Users' Medical Conditions

A new study has revealed that researchers were able to predict 21 types of medical conditions based on Facebook profiles.

“Facebook status updates were particularly effective at predicting diabetes and mental health conditions including anxiety, depression and psychoses," the study, published in PLOS One, found.

"People's personality, mental state, and health behaviors are all reflected in their social media and all have tremendous impact on health," the study noted.

Researchers analyzed 949,530 Facebook status updates made by 999 participants whose posts were longer than 500 words.

They examined the language used in the posts as they believe it encloses the characteristic behavior or symptoms of certain diagnoses. For example, posts that mentioned "drink," "drunk" or "bottle" were marked for alcohol abuse.

"The power of social media language to predict diagnoses raises parallel questions about privacy, informed consent, and data ownership," the researchers warned.