Psychosomatics 1994; 35:533-545
Copyright © 1994 by Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH REPORTS |
One-year follow-up of medical outpatients with hypochondriasis
R Noyes Jr, RG Kathol, MM Fisher, BM Phillips, MT Suelzer and CL Woodman
Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City.
To examine the diagnostic stability and outcome of hypochondriasis, the
authors followed 50 patients with this disorder and 50 age- and sex-
matched control subjects after 1 year. After 1 year, two-thirds of the
subjects continued to meet criteria for hypochondriasis, and the remaining
third had persisting hypochondriacal symptoms. The hypochondriacal subjects
were improved on most measures but still differed from the control subjects
with regard to attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors that had distinguished
them initially. More severe symptoms, longer duration of illness, and
coexisting psychiatric illness were predictive of a worse outcome. The data
indicate that the diagnosis of hypochondriasis is stable over time, and
that, although symptoms wax and wane, characteristic features persist. The
findings underscore the importance of diagnosing and treating
hypochondriasis in medical outpatients.
