Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of Health Anxiety Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: Health anxiety can be defined by concern about health in the absence of a pathology. The Health Anxiety Questionnaire (HAQ) based on the cognitive-behavioral model can be useful for evaluating the severity and the structure of health anxiety. This study aims to verify the reliability and validity of Korean version of HAQ (K-HAQ). METHODS: For reliability, test-retest reliability and internal consistency were analyzed. For construct validity, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to identify the optimal cut-off score. RESULTS: Cronbach’s alpha was 0.92, and r value of test-retest reliability was 0.84. In the EFA, 4- and 5-factor model showed cumulative percentile of variance of 60% or more. In the CFA, the 4-factor model was found to be the most appropriate and simplest (χ²=397.33, df=187, CFI=0.909, TLI=0.888, RMSEA=0.077). In the ROC analysis, the cut-off score was 20 points. CONCLUSION: It is expected that K-HAQ can be helpful to evaluate the severity of health anxiety and make therapeutic plans because K-HAQ can help explore the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral structure of health anxiety by each factor.

¡Ayúdeme doctor, estoy muy enfermo! Una actualización de la clásica hipocondría al vigente trastorno de ansiedad por enfermedad

RESUMEN La característica fundamental del trastorno de ansiedad por enfermedad (antes conocido como hipocondría) es la preocupación, no por los síntomas, sino por la creencia que tiene un paciente de padecer una enfermedad. Esta creencia, basada en una interpretación errónea de signos y sensaciones corporales, genera en el paciente un intenso malestar clínicamente significativo, con disfunción notable de sus actividades de la vida diaria y con un uso exagerado de recursos de salud. El paciente recorre varios servicios médicos y es atendido por varios profesionales, incluidos especialistas en Medicina Interna, Medicina Familiar y Psiquiatría. No obstante, la creencia de estar enfermo persiste a pesar de adecuada evaluación médica y reaseguramiento. A veces, la atención médica resulta en un aumento paradójico de la ansiedad, sin soslayar la posibilidad de complicaciones derivadas de pruebas y procedimientos diagnósticos a los que el paciente es sometido. Los pacientes afectados se sienten frustrados e insatisfechos con la atención médica recibida y la consideran inútil, sintiendo que los médicos no les prestan debida atención. Con base en lo anterior, en este artículo de revisión se hace una puesta al día del concepto, la etiopatogenia, la clínica y el diagnóstico del trastorno de ansiedad por enfermedad, así como de los principios que rigen su tratamiento.

ABSTRACT The fundamental characteristic of illness anxiety disorder (formerly known as hypochondria) is the concern not for the symptoms, but for the patient's belief that he or she is suffering from a disease. This belief, based on a misinterpretation of bodily signs and sensations, generates intense clinical discomfort in the patient, with marked dysfunction of his or her daily activities, and with an exaggerated use of health resources. The patient visits several medical services and is attended by many health professionals, including internal medicine specialists, family medicine physicians and psychiatrists, nevertheless, the belief of ​​being sick persists despite adequate medical evaluation and reassurance. Sometimes, medical attention results in a paradoxical increase in anxiety, without overlooking the possibility of complications arising from tests and diagnostic procedures to which the patient is subjected. Affected patients are frustrated and dissatisfied with the medical care they receive and they find it useless, feeling that doctors do not give them proper attention. Based on the above, this review article updates the concept, etiopathogenesis, clinical signs and symptoms and diagnosis of illness anxiety disorder, as well as the principles governing its treatment.

Hypochondriasis: considerations for ICD-11

The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently revisiting the ICD. In the 10th version of the ICD, approved in 1990, hypochondriacal symptoms are described in the context of both the primary condition hypochondriacal disorder and as secondary symptoms within a range of other mental disorders. Expansion of the research base since 1990 makes a critical evaluation and revision of both the definition and classification of hypochondriacal disorder timely. This article addresses the considerations reviewed by members of the WHO ICD-11 Working Group on the Classification of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders in their proposal for the description and classification of hypochondriasis. The proposed revision emphasizes the phenomenological overlap with both anxiety disorders (e.g., fear, hypervigilance to bodily symptoms, and avoidance) and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (e.g., preoccupation and repetitive behaviors) and the distinction from the somatoform disorders (presence of somatic symptom is not a critical characteristic). This revision aims to improve clinical utility by enabling better recognition and treatment of patients with hypochondriasis within the broad range of global health care settings.