Diagnosis of hypochondriasis: a promenade through the psychiatric nosology.

A new approach to the diagnosis of hypochondriasis is proposed. The hypochondriacal syndrome is first defined as a cluster of features that can be found in various mental disorders, and its differential diagnosis is then presented. Hypochondriasis is demonstrated to arise from the hypochondriacal syndrome as a distinct psychiatric entity that may for the sake of classification either belong to Anxiety Disorders and/or reflect an underlying depression, or it may be diagnosed in conjunction with one of the personality disorders or with major depression.