Would you be pleased or displeased to learn that your next new patient is a hypochondriac?
Would you perform a complete review of systems and investigate appropriately each
new symptom that you uncovered? The term “hypochondriasis” was removed from the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSM-5) in 2013, presumably
because of the stigma attached to it, and the term “health anxiety” is now commonly
used in its place. In 2 representative studies, patients with health anxiety composed
2%-7% and 3%-13% of the medical population.
1
As you would expect, these patients consume more health care dollars and physician
time than other patients.
2
I am sure that you can easily recall at least 1 such patient.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
- Validity of current treatment protocols to overcome hypochondriasis.J Clin Diagn Res. 2017; 11: VE01-VE4
- The outcome of health anxiety in primary care. A two-year follow-up study on health care costs and self-rated health.PLoS One. 2010; 5e9873
- Increase in the prevalence of health anxiety in medical clinics: possible cyberchondria.Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2019; 65: 566-569
- Death rates and the 1983 doctors’ strike in Israel.Lancet. 1984; 1: 107
- Clinical and cost-effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy for health anxiety in medical patients: a multicentre randomised controlled trial.Lancet. 2014; 383: 219-225
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 15, 2020
Accepted:
November 21,
2019
Received:
November 20,
2019
Footnotes
See page 821 for disclosure information.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
