LONDON (Reuters) - Avid fans of television soaps may be picking up more than they bargain for -- including the ailments and life threatening illnesses of their favourite stars.

A study of 200 family doctors found large numbers of people were visiting their surgeries with "telly belly" -- illnesses they believe they share with TV characters or have read about.

More than 90 percent of doctors said health stories on the news or in TV soaps affected patients and most believed media coverage had a significant effect on people's interest in their own well-being.

But they said that only a quarter of patients who self-diagnose were usually right, two-thirds occasionally were, and one in 10 hardly ever.

"TV health scares clearly put added pressure on GPs. But overall I'm sure doctors welcome the population's growing interest in its own well-being," said Tim Baker, commercial director of medical insurer Norwich Union Healthcare which commissioned the study.

Health issues, ranging from AIDS and cervical cancer to rashes and teenage pregnancy are regular fare for characters in soaps.

One example of "telly belly" had been caused by a plot from Britain's most popular soap "Eastenders" where one character had been diagnosed with a brain tumour.

"Someone has a headache and gets immersed in a storyline and thinks 'is this a headache or something worse?'" the researcher told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

But medical experts said it was good news that the public were taking a greater interest in their health rather than waiting for a doctor to do everything for them.

"Anything which empowers patients to take more responsibility for their own well-being is to be applauded," said Dr John Henry, professor of Accident Medicine at St Mary's Hospital, London.