Specific phobia of illness in the community

This study evaluated the prevalence, risk factors and morbidity associated with specific phobia of illness. Subjects were from a random, community telephone survey of 500 persons age 40 to 65 who lived in Johnson County, Iowa, USA. Forty-three subjects reported that illness fears substantially bothered them personally or affected their medical care, work, or social life. Twenty-one of these subjects could be contacted and agreed to a semistructured interview designed to diagnose specific phobia of illness and screen for other common psychiatric disorders. Based on the interview, 10 subjects met the criteria for specific phobia of illness, 10 for major depressive disorder, 5 for obsessive-compulsive disorder, 5 for generalized anxiety disorder, 4 for hypochondriasis, 4 for panic disorder and 4 for specific phobia other than illness. Assuming subjects not interviewed were similar to subjects who were, the community prevalence of specific phobia of illness is 4.0%. Among the 10 subjects with specific phobia of illness, 7 had prior negative experiences with illness and 8 had comorbid Axis I disorders. The phobia interfered with medical care as well as social functioning for many subjects. These results suggest a prevalence rate and risk factors that will be useful for additional studies of illness phobia.