An examination of the factors that influence costs in medical patients with health anxiety.
OBJECTIVE
To measure and document the total service cost of patients with health anxiety and to investigate the statistical association between costs and patient characteristics, levels of anxiety and other clinical characteristics.


METHODS
Data on services used by 444 people with high health anxiety from five types of secondary care medical outpatient clinics were collected in interview with patients by self-report for the preceding six months. Costs associated with these services were calculated and personal and clinical factors associated with these costs were explored.


RESULTS
Mean total costs over six months were £2976 per participant and ranged from £146 to £25,200. The regression model found higher costs were significantly associated with poorer social functioning and self-reported health-related quality of life. No statistical association was found between severity of health anxiety and cost, and generalised anxiety was inversely related.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that a re-examination of the simple causative relationship between health anxiety and cost in the health anxious is warranted.
Centre for the Economics of Mental and Physical Health, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, UK. barbara.m.barrett@kcl.ac.uk
Barbara
B
Barrett
Peter
P
Tyrer
Helen
H
Tyrer
Sylvia
S
Cooper
Mike J
MJ
Crawford
Sarah
S
Byford
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000191:economics*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000191:economics*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D006998:Hypochondriasis / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000191:economics