Which statement best differentiates Hypochondriasis from Somatic Symptom Disorder and Illness Anxiety Disorder in DSM-5?

• A. Hypochondriasis is the current DSM-5 category, while Illness Anxiety Disorder is older.
• B. Hypochondriasis is an outdated term; Illness Anxiety Disorder is the current category, and Somatic Symptom Disorder centers on somatic symptoms.
• C. Hypochondriasis is an outdated term; in DSM-5, Illness Anxiety Disorder and Somatic Symptom Disorder are the current categories.
• D. Hypochondriasis is unrelated to Illness Anxiety Disorder and Somatic Symptom Disorder.

Answer: (C)

The main idea tested is how DSM-5 reclassified Hypochondriasis into two separate disorders rather than keeping it as one label. In DSM-5, Hypochondriasis is no longer used; instead, the field recognizes two current categories: Illness Anxiety Disorder and Somatic Symptom Disorder. This change separates people who are primarily preoccupied with having a serious illness from those who have prominent physical symptoms with excessive worry or behavior about those symptoms. Illness Anxiety Disorder focuses on health worry with little or no substantial somatic symptoms, while Somatic Symptom Disorder centers on one or more genuine somatic symptoms that are distressing, plus disproportionate thoughts, feelings, or behaviors about them. So the statement that Hypochondriasis is outdated and that Illness Anxiety Disorder and Somatic Symptom Disorder are the DSM-5 categories accurately reflects how the diagnosis is organized today.