Hypochondriacs die five years earlier than others, major new study finds
A study shows that those who constantly worry about developing a fatal disease are more likely to die than others.
Researchers in Sweden examined the health outcomes of people with an anxiety disorder called hypochondria – characterized by a excessive fear of illness.
While many people worry about becoming unwell, people with hypochondria find their daily lives disrupted by anxiety and interpret almost every normal bodily sensation as a sign of illness.
Scientists at the Karolinska Institutet followed 42,000 people – including 1,000 with the condition – for twenty years and discovered that those who worried lived five years shorter.
The results showed that patients who experienced the phenomenon lived an average of 70 years, while those who led normal lives lived to 75 years.
According to the CDC, the average life expectancy in the US is 76.4 years.
Researchers in Sweden who followed 42,000 people for 20 years – including 1,000 with the condition – found that worriers lived an average of 70 years, compared to 75 for others.
Patients with hypochondria were also almost four times more likely to die by suicide and were at higher risk of death from respiratory diseases such as flu and Covid, as well as from circulatory or neurological problems.
Researchers said the link could not be explained by the 'fear of finding out' – where people are so worried about getting sick that they don't go to the doctor, risking a delayed diagnosis.
Instead, they said the constant state of worry – which can be caused by normal sensations such as sweating or bloating – led to chronic stress, a known cause of physical health problems.
Stress and anxiety can lead to the release of chemicals that result in increasing levels of inflammation throughout the body.
Studies have linked long-term inflammation to a host of problems, including a weakened immune system, which reduces the body's ability to fight infections and diseases.
It was also possible that the increased awareness of illness is rooted in underlying health conditions, putting patients at greater risk of death.
The researchers also noted that it was important to note that these patients were not at a higher risk of cancer-related deaths.
The research shows that people who suffer from the condition are more likely to be women and have another co-existing anxiety disorder.
Illness anxiety disorder, or hypochondria, is extremely rare in the US, affecting an estimated 0.1 percent of the population – or 330,000 people.
Doctors diagnose it when they have ruled out other conditions such as an anxiety disorder.
Symptoms include excessive worrying about a specific medical condition or repeatedly checking the body for signs of illness.
Patients may also constantly talk to others about their health, worry about getting sick, or worry that minor symptoms are signs of a serious illness.
For the research, published in JAMA Psychiatryresearchers extracted data from the Swedish National Patient Register – which contains statistics on diseases for all patients in Sweden.
A search of the dataset from 1997 to 2020 showed that 1,000 patients had previously been diagnosed with hypochondria.
These were matched to 41,000 patients who were similar in age and gender and lived in the same country.
Scientists then looked at data from both for 20 years to determine the risk of death or disease.
The majority of hypochondria patients (57 percent) were women and almost all of them had another anxiety disorder (78 percent).
In addition to the five-year difference in average life expectancy, data also showed that people with the condition had a fourfold increased risk of dying by suicide – and were twice as likely to die from a respiratory disease compared to those who did not have the condition . .
Their risk of all-cause mortality – death from any condition – was also 64 percent higher.
Dr. David Mataix-Cols, a neuroscientist at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and others wrote in the paper: 'This cohort study suggests that individuals with hypochondria have an increased risk of death from both natural and unnatural causes, particularly suicide, compared to individuals from the general population without hypochondriasis.
'Improved detection and access to evidence-based care must be a priority.'
Causes of the condition include past experiences, such as struggles with a serious illness or health problems in the family.
Treatments include psychotherapy and antidepressants.