@article{WeckNagelRichtbergetal.2017,
  author    = {Weck, Florian and Nagel, Laura Carlotta and Richtberg, Samantha and Neng, Julia M. B.},
  title     = {Personality disorders in hypochondriasis},
  series = {Journal of personality disorders},
  volume    = {31},
  journal   = {Journal of personality disorders},
  publisher = {Guilford Press},
  address   = {New York},
  issn      = {0885-579X},
  pages     = {567 -- 576},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Previous studies found high prevalence rates of personality disorders (PDs) in patients with hypochondriasis; however, assessment was often based only on questionnaires. In the current study, a sample of 68 patients with hypochondriasis was compared to 31 patients with panic disorder and to 94 healthy controls. Participants were investigated with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders questionnaire (SCID-II questionnaire) and the SCID-II interview. Based on the cut-off scores of the SCID-II questionnaire, we found a prevalence rate of 45.6\% for PD in patients with hypochondriasis. In comparison to healthy controls, patients with hypochondriasis showed characteristics of paranoid, borderline, avoid ant, and-dependent PDs in the dimensional assessment significantly more often. However, no significant differences were found between the clinical samples. Based on the SCID-II interview, only 2.9\% of the patients with hypochondriasis fulfilled the criteria for a PD. These results suggest that PDs are not a specific characteristic of hypochondriasis.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{WeckNagelHoeflingetal.2017,
  author    = {Weck, Florian and Nagel, Laura Carlotta and Hoefling, Volkmar and Neng, Julia M. B.},
  title     = {Cognitive Therapy and Exposure Therapy for Hypochondriasis (Health Anxiety): A 3-Year Naturalistic Follow-Up},
  series = {Journal of consulting and clinical psychology},
  volume    = {85},
  journal   = {Journal of consulting and clinical psychology},
  publisher = {American Psychological Association},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {0022-006X},
  doi       = {10.1037/ccp0000239},
  pages     = {1012 -- 1017},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Objective: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in treating hypochondriasis. However, there are doubts regarding the long-term effectiveness of CBT for hypochondriasis, in particular for follow-up periods longer than 1 year. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of cognitive therapy (CT) and exposure therapy (ET) for the treatment of hypochondriasis. Method: Seventy-five patients with a diagnosis of hypochondriasis who were previously treated with CT or ET were contacted 3 years after treatment. Fifty (67\%) patients participated and were interviewed by an independent and blinded diagnostician using standardized interviews. Results: We found further improvements after therapy in primary outcome measures (d = .37), general functioning (d = .38), and reduced doctor visits (d = .30) during the naturalistic follow-up period. At the 3-year follow-up, 72\% of the patients no longer fulfilled the diagnosis of hypochondriasis. Based on the main outcome measure, we found response rates of 76\% and remission rates of 68\%. At follow-up, only 4\% of patients were taking antidepressant medication. Additional psychological treatment was utilized by 18\% of the patients during the follow-up period (only 8\% because of health anxiety). We found no overall differences between CT and ET. Only a trend for a greater deterioration rate in CT (13\%) in comparison to ET (0\%) was found. Conclusions: Our results suggest that 2/3 of the patients with hypochondriasis were remitted in the long term. Thus, remission rates after CBT were twice as high as in untreated samples.},
  language  = {en}
}