570,000 hypochondriacs in city, Chinese University study finds

It's good to be health conscious but some people take things too far - ironically to the detriment of their mental and physical health.

That's the conclusion from a survey of more than 3,000 people done by Chinese University's Mood Disorders Centre which estimates as many as 570,000 adults suffer from some form of hypochondria, or chronic abnormal anxiety, even though they are healthy.

One such person is housewife Heidi, in her 50s, who at one time was making 10 visits a month to her doctor because she feared she had severe illnesses such as cancer. Her anxiety started 10 years ago after she had bile surgery and saw her younger sister and brother-in-law suffering from cancer. 'On one occasion, a doctor told me to spend time travelling overseas and relax instead of anxiously seeking diagnosis,' she said.

The director of the centre, Professor Lee Sing, who carried out the study, the city's first on hypochondriac behaviour, estimated around 11 per cent of adults in the city have developed such behaviour, based on a telephone poll done by the university's Hong Kong Institute of Asia Pacific Studies in September last year. The rate is comparable to that overseas, he said.

Lee warned that people with hypochondriac behaviour double their risk of developing serious mood disorders such as anxiety disorder and depression.

Analysis by his team found people showing such behaviour also suffered from sleep problems (30.8 per cent), limb and joint pain (26.8 per cent) and fatigue (26.7 per cent). People between 45 and 54 are more prone to developing the behaviour.

Sufferers often go 'doctor shopping', visiting several in an effort to identify their suspected health problems. The study showed about one in five people with hypochondriac behaviour saw doctors at least once a month. They were usually unhappy with the medical help they received as the doctors usually could not identify any problems.