HYPOCHONDRIASIS AND SYMPTOM REPORTING - THE EFFECT OF ATTENTION VERSUS DISTRACTION

Background: This study examined symptom perception in hypochondriacal patients without physical stimulation. Methods: Seventeen outpatients with DSM-III-R hypochondriasis and 16 healthy control subjects were co mpared. All subjects were asked to report perceived sensations in thre e conditions: attention, distraction and control. Results: It was foun d that hypochondriacal subjects showed remarkably higher levels of sym ptom reporting than healthy subjects in all three conditions. In spite of excessive attention to bodily sensations in a control condition, a ttention instructions still added significantly to symptom reporting i n hypochondriacal patients. The effect of distraction was not signific ant in either of the groups. Furthermore, group differences in symptom reporting appeared to be related to preoccupation with bodily symptom s rather than to general anxiety level as measured by the STAI. Conclu sions: Hypochondriacal patients report more bodily sensations than hea lthy controls when no instructions are given. In addition, focussing o n bodily sensations seems to cause a significant overall increase of p erceived symptoms in hypochondriacal patients, whereas in healthy subj ects there is a trend towards an increase in symptom reporting.