Mw. Otto et al., ADDITIONAL FINDINGS ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ANXIETY SENSITIVITY AND HYPOCHONDRIACAL CONCERNS - EXAMINATION OF PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSION, Journal of anxiety disorders, 12(3), 1998, pp. 225-232
Hypochondriacal concerns ranging from disease phobias to bodily preocc
upations are common among patients with panic disorder. In a previous
study of patients with panic disorder, we found that, of a number of s
ymptom dimensions examined, anxiety sensitivity was the strongest pred
ictor of hypochondriacal concerns. This finding has been the topic of
subsequent debate in the anxiety literature, with concerns raised whet
her true hypochondriacal concerns were confounded with typical panic-r
elated concerns. To clarify this issue, we now report on the associati
on between anxiety sensitivity and hypochondriacal concerns in 100 pat
ients with major depression and no history of panic disorder. Consiste
nt with our previous study, we found that of the symptoms examined-anx
iety sensitivity, depressed mood, anxious mood, somatic symptoms, and
anger/hostility -anxiety sensitivity was the strongest predictor of hy
pochondriacal concerns. Findings are discussed in relation to the role
of catastrophic interpretations of somatic symptoms in depression, pa
nic disorder, and hypochondriasis. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.