The role of disgust in patients with hypochondriasis

Abstract

Theoretically, disgust sensitivity and disgust proneness could play an important role in hypochondriasis, since disgust is a defensive emotion widely believed to protect the organism from illness. However, empirical evidence to support this hypothesis has so far been based only on nonclinical samples, so that the importance and specificity of disgust for hypochondriasis remains unclear. In the current study, 36 patients with hypochondriasis, 27 with an anxiety disorder, and 29 healthy controls completed several measures which included the assessment of disgust sensitivity (Scale for the Assessment of Disgust Sensitivity) and disgust proneness (Questionnaire for the Assessment of Disgust Proneness). We found that patients with hypochondriasis and those with an anxiety disorder had higher scores than those of the healthy controls for several measures of disgust proneness. Moreover, measures of hypochondriacal characteristics were associated with those of disgust proneness and disgust sensitivity. However, no differences were found between patients with hypochondriasis and those with anxiety disorders, with respect to disgust proneness and disgust sensitivity. Therefore, it can be assumed that disgust proneness and disgust sensitivity seem to be less specific than previously suggested for the development and maintenance of hypochondriasis.

Keywords:

• anxiety disorder
• disgust proneness
• disgust sensitivity
• health anxiety
• hypochondriasis
• illness anxiety disorder

Notes

1. When only patients with the diagnosis of hypochondriasis without a comorbid anxiety disorder (n = 28) were compared to the sample of patients with a primary diagnosis of an anxiety disorder (n = 27), we also found no significant differences in the measures of disgust proneness and disgust sensitivity.

Additional information

Funding

Funding: This work was supported by the German Research Foundation under the grant WE 4654/2-3.