Hypochondriacs worry constantly about their health, even when nothing is actually wrong. Now, a new study suggests they do, in fact, have reason to worry—and it might be because all that worrying is making them ill. The Swedish study in JAMA Psychiatry found that people diagnosed with hypochondriasis—more formally known as illness anxiety disorder, or IAD—were more likely to die earlier than those without the diagnosis, per Science Alert. "It's kind of a paradoxical finding, isn't it?" researcher David Mataix-Cols tells the Washington Post. "They worry so much about health and death, and then they end up having a higher risk of death anyway."
Researchers used data from Swedish health and census databases to compare people diagnosed with IAD to those of the same age, gender, and area of residence. They found that hypochondriacs had an 84% greater risk of "all-cause mortality," per the study. "The excess mortality was attributed to both natural and unnatural causes, particularly suicide, which can be generally classed as preventable," the study adds. Mataix-Cols theorizes that chronic stress and anxiety may play a role, with hypochondriacs having generally unhealthy lives because they're too obsessed with being healthy.
Two possible factors: Hypochondriacs may fear visiting the doctor and thus let treatable illnesses worsen. They also might self-medicate to ease their worries with drugs, tobacco, and alcohol, which can contribute to the onset of natural ailments, writes Stephen Hughes at Science Alert. Mataix-Cols says he hopes the study will focus more attention on IAD, which can be treated through therapy and antidepressants. (More hypochondria stories.)
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