20 December 2023 , 14:38
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People who are excessively scared of catching a serious illness die earlier than people who aren’t so worried about their health, a new study has found.
Many of us worry about our health but for those who take it to extremes, suffering from what is called Hypochondriasis or illness anxiety disorder - it can come with an increased risk of death. Illness anxiety disorder is a rare condition that see’s sufferers unable to shake their fears despite normal physical exams and lab tests. Some may change doctors repeatedly. Others may avoid medical care.
People with the condition are at an increased risk of death from both natural and unnatural causes, the Swedish study found, with quadruple the risk of suicide. The impact of chronic stress on the body could also explain some of the results, the authors wrote. The study, published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry looked at 4,100 people over 24 years from 1997-2020 who had been classified with hypochondriasis.
David Mataix-Cols of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who led the research said previous research suggested that the risk of suicide might be lower for sufferers but, “our hunch, based on clinical experience, was that this would be incorrect.” Indeed, the risk of suicide death was four times higher for the people with the diagnosis, his research showed.
The study matched the 4,100 hypochondriasis sufferers with 1,000 people similar in age, sex and county of residence and compared death rates. rates were higher in the people with hypochondriasis, 8.5 versus 5.5 per 1,000 person years. People with the condition died younger than the others, a mean age of 70 versus 75. Their risk of death from circulatory and respiratory diseases was higher. Cancer was an exception; the risk of death was about the same.
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Dr. Jonathan E. Alpert of Montefiore Medical Center in New York explained: “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,” he told AP.
He said it was important to take people suffering with the disorder seriously, and offer treatments, which can include cognitive behavioural therapy, relaxation techniques, education and sometimes antidepressant medication. However, care must be taken when referring patients convinced they have a physical ailment to mental health professionals, Dr Alpert pointed out.
“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,” Alpert said. “And, fortunately, there are good treatments,” he said.