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You’d think that constantly worrying about one’s health would allude to people leading healthier lifestyles. However, a new study suggests that hypochondriacs do, in fact, have reason to worry, and it is possible that all that worrying is making them significantly ill, increasing their risk of early death.
The study, which was published on December 13 in the JAMA Psychiatry journal, revealed that people diagnosed with hypochondriasis were 84% more likely than people without the disorder to die of several conditions, “especially heart, blood and lung diseases, as well as suicide.”
Speaking to the Washington Post, researcher David Mataix-Cols says: “It’s kind of a paradoxical finding, isn’t it?…They worry so much about health and death, and then they end up having a higher risk of death anyway.”
Who are Hypochondriacs?
According to The Conversation, the word “hypochondriac” is becoming a pejorative term, which is why medical professionals are encouraged to use the phrase illness anxiety disorder (IAD) instead. IAD is a mental health condition characterised by excessive worry about health, where the individual possesses an unsupported belief that a serious medical condition is present. This belief could stem from frequent visits to a doctor, or it may involve avoiding visits altogether on the basis that a real and possibly fatal condition might be diagnosed.
In simpler words, hypochondriacs are people who are constantly paranoid about being or becoming sick. While this condition affects 1 to 5% of the general population (source: MDedge), the risk of mortality among individuals with hypochondriasis is unknown.
About the Research
Based on the study, the Swedish researchers tracked around 42,000 people (out of which 1,000 had IAD) for over two decades. During that period, people with the disorder displayed an increased risk of death. According to The Conversation, the study found that “on average, worriers died five years younger than those who worried less.” The research also revealed the risk of death was increased from both natural and unnatural causes.
Mataix-Cols, a neuroscience and psychiatry professor at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institutet, shared that many hypochondriacs remain paranoid even after doctors assure they’re healthy. He also highlights that searching for information about symptoms on the internet can also worsen a patient’s anxiety. He adds, “They experience a lot of suffering and hopelessness.”
Over a year ago, researchers began gathering data from the Swedish census and health databases between the years 1997 to 2020. They identified 4,129 people diagnosed with hypochondriasis and compared each person against a group of 10 people with the same sex, birth year and county of residence but without hypochondriasis. Researchers also took into consideration marriage status, education level and family income. After roughly nine months of observation, 268 hypochondriacs died about five years younger on average than those without hypochondriasis.
The Swedish researcher hopes to learn more about hypochondriasis, but for now, he asserts that more attention and resources should go into caring for people with the disorder, which can be treated through cognitive behavioural therapy and antidepressants.
Mataix-Cols adds: “We have good treatments…and most people don’t get them.”
