New York, Dec 19 (IANS): A study has revealed that six percent of people are suffering from internet addiction worldwide, hampering their health and interpersonal relationships.

Researchers from University of Hong Kong presented 164 internet addiction prevalence figures, with an overall global prevalence estimate of six percent.

Data was taken from more than 89,000 individuals in 31 countries.

Prevalence ranged from a low of 2.6 percent in Northern and Western Europe to a high of 10.9 percent in the Middle East.

The authors described factors associated with higher internet addiction prevalence and how it relates to individuals' quality of life.

"This findings provide initial support for the inverse relationship between quality of life and internet addiction. It, however, finds no support for the hypothesis that high Internet accessibility (such as the high penetration rates in northern and western Europe), promote such addiction," said Brenda K. Wiederhold, from Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California and Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Brussels, Belgium.

Internet addiction is an impulse-control problem marked by an inability to inhibit internet use which can adversely affect a person's life.

The article titled "Internet Addiction Prevalence and Quality of (Real) Life: A Meta-Analysis of 31 Nations Across Seven World Regions", by researchers Cecelia Cheng and Angel Yee-lam Li appeared in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.