Symptoms of hypochondriasis in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Prevalence, Treatment Outcome, and Relationship with Metacognition

Abstract

The study aimed to examine symptoms of hypochondriasis in relation to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), by investigating the prevalence of hypochondriacal symptoms in OCD, the effect hypochondriacal symptoms has on OCD treatment outcome, and how OCD treatment affects hypochondriacal symptoms. Another objective of the study was to explore the role of metacognition in symptoms of hypochondria. A sample of 313 patients with a primary diagnosis of OCD and 382 community controls were compared on the Whiteley Index of hypochondriasis, the Metacognitions Questionnaire, and the Yale-Brown Obsessive- Compulsive Scale. Results showed that the prevalence of hypochondriasis symptoms was 30.7% in the OCD sample, significantly higher than in the control group. Furthermore, symptoms of hypochondria did not have a significant effect on OCD treatment outcome. Hypochondriacal symptoms improved moderately following OCD treatment. Finally, symptoms of hypochondriasis were found to be moderately correlated with metacognition and improvement in hypochondriasis was associated with changes in metacognitive beliefs. Implications for treatment and future research is discussed.