Worrying About Your Health All Day Long Could Actually Make You Sick

Study on Mortality Risk in Patients with 'Health Anxiety'
84% Higher Mortality Risk Compared to Control Group

Those who excessively worry about developing serious illnesses may be suffering from 'health anxiety disorder.' Health anxiety disorder has been found to pose a risk of shortening life expectancy.

A research team led by Professor David Mataix-Cols from the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the Psychiatry Research Center of Karolinska Institute in Sweden analyzed health survey database data of the Swedish population from 1997 to 2020 and reported these findings. The study was reported by the US daily newspaper Washington Post (WP) on the 26th (local time).

The research method was as follows. First, the team compared and analyzed data from 4,129 individuals diagnosed with health anxiety disorder (average age at diagnosis 34.5 years, 56.7% female) and a control group of 41,290 people matched by gender and age without health anxiety disorder.

Hypochondria is a condition characterized by an excessive fear of having a serious illness.
[Image source=Pixabay]

Analysis results showed that the group with health anxiety disorder had an 84% higher likelihood of dying early from various diseases compared to the control group. In particular, the risk of death from heart, blood, and lung diseases, as well as from extreme self-harm, was the highest.

Even after considering various lifestyle variables such as marital status, education level, and living standards, the 'all-cause mortality risk' in the health anxiety disorder group was 69% higher than that of the control group. The incidence of natural death was also 60% higher, and the likelihood of death from external causes other than natural death was 2.43 times higher. The probability of extreme self-harm was a staggering 4.14 times higher than the control group.

The research team noted that since the diagnosis rate of health anxiety disorder is low, the mortality rate is estimated to be even higher when considering undiagnosed patients.

So, why is the mortality rate higher among patients with health anxiety disorder? The research team pointed to the possibility of alcohol and drug dependence caused by chronic stress. They also added that some patients might deliberately avoid seeing a doctor due to fears of having a serious illness.

The research team emphasized, "There is a need to pay more attention to health anxiety disorder and actively treat it," adding that "the disorder can be treated through cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressants."