SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
American Psychological Association
Table of Contents
Why Practitioners Need Information
- Hypochondriasis is the somatoform disorder most likely to be found in later adulthood. From 10 to 15 percent of older adults exhibit a marked concern about their health and overestimate their level of physical impairment. Hypochondriasis may exist alone or coexist with a number of other disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and dementia.
- Older adults with somatoform disorders are at risk for lack of appropriate attention from health care professionals who may minimize symptoms of real physical disorders. Those with somatoform disorders are also more likely to take unnecessary medications and to undergo unnecessary medical procedures, both of which are especially risky for them and may contribute to actual morbidity.
...DREAM SLEEP DECLINES
FROM 40 PERCENT
OF SLEEP TIME IN EARLY
CHILDHOOD TO ABOUT
25 PERCENT BY AGE 70.