Hypochondriacs Have a Shorter Lifespan Compared to Those Who Do Not Worry Too Much About Their Health 0 8

Hypochondria is...

Some medical professionals use the term “illness anxiety disorder” instead of “hypochondria.” This mental condition occurs when a person firmly believes that they have or will inevitably develop a serious illness that threatens their life. They may have no symptoms or even any predisposition to the disease.

This feeling can persist even when medical examinations show exclusively positive results. The patient blindly believes their internal convictions, and the thought of an impending illness completely takes over their mind.

Hypochondria can be quite exhausting. A person with this disorder spends a lot of time worrying and money on visiting clinics and undergoing tests. Such patients should primarily seek help from a psychotherapist rather than from doctors of other specialties.

What the Research Shows

Over the past twenty years, Swedish researchers have monitored the health of more than 41,000 individuals. Of these, 4,129 were diagnosed with hypochondria. The analysis revealed that people with this disorder have an increased risk of death: on average, they died five years earlier than those who worry less about their health. Moreover, the risk of death was elevated from both natural and unnatural causes.

The natural deaths of hypochondriacs were most often caused by cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Interestingly, there was no increased mortality from cancer among them, even though oncology is one of the main fears of people with this type of disorder.

Researchers suggest that this may be related to harmful habits that often develop in people with mental illnesses: excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and drug use.

The authors of the study hope that their findings will encourage doctors to take patients with illness anxiety disorder more seriously and refer them to specialists as soon as possible.