- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- 5.1 Mind–body dualism, psychiatry, and medicine
- 5.2 Somatoform disorders and other causes of medically unexplained symptoms
- 5.2.1 Somatoform disorders and functional symptoms
- 5.2.2 Epidemiology of somatoform disorders and other causes of unexplained medical symptoms
- 5.2.3 Somatization disorder and related disorders
- 5.2.4 Conversion and dissociation disorders
- 5.2.5 Hypochondriasis (health anxiety)
- 5.2.6. Pain disorder
- 5.2.7 Chronic fatigue syndrome
- 5.2.8 Body dysmorphic disorder
- 5.2.9 Factitious disorder and malingering
- 5.2.10 Neurasthenia
- 5.3 Medical and surgical conditions and treatments associated with psychiatric disorders
- 5.4 Obstetric and gynaecological conditions associated with psychiatric disorder
- 5.5 Management of psychiatric disorders in medically ill patients, including emergencies
- 5.6 Health psychology
- 5.7 The organization of psychiatric services for general hospital departments
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Hypochondriasis (health anxiety)
- Chapter:
- Hypochondriasis (health anxiety)
- Author(s):
Russell Noyes Jr.
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199696758.003.0131
Hypochondriasis is a preoccupation with the fear that one has, or may develop, serious disease despite evidence to the contrary. So defined, the disorder affects between 2 and 7 per cent of patients attending general medical clinics and is a cause of physical dysfunction and disability. It is also a reason for increased health care utilization and dissatisfaction with care received. To their physicians, patients with this disorder are an enigma and a source of frustration. Unfortunately, relatively little is known about hypochondriasis. Primary care physicians have had little interest and psychiatrists see few patients with the condition. It is a pejorative label that, even if entertained, is rarely communicated. And, even if communicated, the diagnosis would not, until very recently, have led to effective treatment.
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- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- 5.1 Mind–body dualism, psychiatry, and medicine
- 5.2 Somatoform disorders and other causes of medically unexplained symptoms
- 5.2.1 Somatoform disorders and functional symptoms
- 5.2.2 Epidemiology of somatoform disorders and other causes of unexplained medical symptoms
- 5.2.3 Somatization disorder and related disorders
- 5.2.4 Conversion and dissociation disorders
- 5.2.5 Hypochondriasis (health anxiety)
- 5.2.6. Pain disorder
- 5.2.7 Chronic fatigue syndrome
- 5.2.8 Body dysmorphic disorder
- 5.2.9 Factitious disorder and malingering
- 5.2.10 Neurasthenia
- 5.3 Medical and surgical conditions and treatments associated with psychiatric disorders
- 5.4 Obstetric and gynaecological conditions associated with psychiatric disorder
- 5.5 Management of psychiatric disorders in medically ill patients, including emergencies
- 5.6 Health psychology
- 5.7 The organization of psychiatric services for general hospital departments
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry