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Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been efficacious in treating hypochondriasis, with small-to-large effect sizes, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been beneficial. Now, researchers have compared these approaches head to head and tested their combination in a first-ever study.
In the two-site, 24-week trial, 195 patients with moderate-to-severe, DSM-IV–diagnosed hypochondriasis were randomized to four treatments:
CBT (6 weekly plus 2 biweekly sessions followed by 3 monthly booster sessions, each 60 minutes)
Fluoxetine alone (10–80 mg as needed; mean, 40 mg/day)
Placebo alone
CBT plus fluoxetine (therapies delivered by separate clinicians; mean fluoxetine, 31 mg/day)
Non-CBT recipients saw physicians at the same frequency as CB…