A new study out of Sweden has found that people diagnosed with an excessive fear of illness tend to die earlier than those less focused on health issues.
The study, published December 13 in JAMA Psychiatry, offers new insight into what the lead author, David Mataix-Cols of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, called “a clear gap in the literature,” reported the Associated Press.
Illness anxiety disorder, formerly known as hypochondriasis, is a condition that produces severe health fears despite no discernable issues. In some cases, patients frequent numerous doctors after failing to obtain a diagnosis.
“Many of us are mild hypochondriacs. But there are also people on the other extreme of the spectrum who live in a perpetual state of worry and suffering and rumination about having a serious illness,” said Dr. Jonathan E. Alpert of Montefiore Medical Center, per the AP.
Cognitive behavioral theory, stress-relief techniques, education, and, in rarer cases, antidepressants are used to treat illness anxiety disorder. However, some people who have the affliction stop seeing healthcare providers altogether, frustrated with a lack of a conventional diagnosis.
To conduct the study, 4,100 people with the condition were assessed. The group was matched with 41,000 individuals of similar age, sex, and country of residence. The two groups were then compared using a “person years” measurement, which accounts for the number of people and the length of time each spent in the study.
Death rates were higher in people with illness anxiety disorder, 8.5 versus 5.5 per 1,000 person years, according to the AP. People afflicted with the condition died at a mean age of 70 versus 75 for the other group.
“It takes a great deal of respect and sensitivity conveyed to patients that this itself is a kind of condition, that it has a name,” said Alpert. “And, fortunately, there are good treatments.”
