Krankheitsängste und Hypochondrische Störung

Abstract

Krankheitsängste sind weit verbreitet und in ihrer pathologischen Ausprägung in Form der Hypochondrischen Störung (ICD-10) kostenintensiv für das Gesundheitssystem. In den letzten Jahren gab es Fortschritte bei der Erforschung und Entwicklung effektiver psychotherapeutischer Behandlungen. Kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutische Therapiekonzepte repräsentieren derzeit die Methode der Wahl zur Behandlung der Hypochondrischen Störung.

Intersectional inequalities in health anxiety: multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy in the SOMA.SOC study

“…The relevance of socioeconomic disadvantage in health anxiety was also demonstrated in a recent meta-analysis ( 9 ). The etiology of health anxiety is strongly related to negative life events, negative illness experiences, and ongoing life stressors ( 4 ). Besides structural oppression, psychosocial, material, and behavioral stressors (subsumed as intermediary determinants) as well as higher health burden and limited access to health care occur more often in the course of a low socio-economic background (as well as pre, during, and post-migration).…”

“…With prevalence rates between 2.1 and 13.1% in the general population and even up to 34.6% in the psychiatric setting, health anxiety is a widespread but much overlooked challenge ( 1 , 3 ). Due to its stress relation, health anxiety often coexists with other mental disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder, depression or somatoform disorders and is also relevant in the context of (chronic) physical illnesses ( 4 , 5 ). Adverse life events, e.g., experiencing a (former) serious illness, high levels of stress, or ongoing challenges in life can contribute to the development or exacerbation of health anxiety symptoms ( 4 , 5 ).…”

“…Due to its stress relation, health anxiety often coexists with other mental disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder, depression or somatoform disorders and is also relevant in the context of (chronic) physical illnesses ( 4 , 5 ). Adverse life events, e.g., experiencing a (former) serious illness, high levels of stress, or ongoing challenges in life can contribute to the development or exacerbation of health anxiety symptoms ( 4 , 5 ). Health anxiety is associated with reduced health-related quality of life and high economic burden due to inappropriate health care use, sick-leave, and disability ( 1 , 4 , 6 ).…”

“…Adverse life events, e.g., experiencing a (former) serious illness, high levels of stress, or ongoing challenges in life can contribute to the development or exacerbation of health anxiety symptoms ( 4 , 5 ). Health anxiety is associated with reduced health-related quality of life and high economic burden due to inappropriate health care use, sick-leave, and disability ( 1 , 4 , 6 ). Cognitive behavioral therapy has proven to be an effective treatment to reduce health anxiety ( 7 ).…”

Ethnic and migration-related inequalities in health anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Acute stressors which are often faced by refugees and certain migrant groups pre, during, and post migration process (e.g., the death of a relative, discrimination, or material deprivation) can activate these catastrophizing tendencies and lead to negative assumptions of the body (Hunter and Schmidt, 2010;World Health Organization, 2010a;Mölsä et al, 2014). Even slight symptoms or bodily sensations are then misinterpreted as a threatening illness (Sauer and Witthöft, 2020). Furthermore, negative treatment experiences like language barriers or cultural differences in illness perceptions can maintain or worsen the misinterpretation.…”