Illness Anxiety Disorder was previously known as which condition?

• A. Hypochondriasis
• B. Somatic Symptom Disorder
• C. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• D. Panic Disorder

Answer: (A)

Illness Anxiety Disorder centers on a persistent preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, often with minimal or no somatic symptoms. In DSM-5, this condition was renamed from Hypochondriasis to better reflect health anxiety rather than actual physical illness symptoms. So the historical term that matches Illness Anxiety Disorder is Hypochondriasis.

Somatic Symptom Disorder involves prominent physical symptoms with excessive thoughts about them, which is a different focus. Generalized Anxiety Disorder is about chronic worry across many areas, not specifically health-focused. Panic Disorder centers on recurrent panic attacks and fear of future ones.