TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2008//
TI  - Polonium-210 poisoning in London: hypochondriasis and public health
JO  - Prehospital and disaster medicine
A1  - Morgan, Oliver W.
A1  - Page, Lisa
A1  - Forrester, Sarah
A1  - Maguire, Helen
SP  - 96
EP  - 97
VL  - 23
IS  - 1
N2  - INTRODUCTION: In November 2006, a Russian dissident died from radioactive Polonium-210 (210Po) poisoning in London. Providing reassuring messages during a public health incident may be ineffective for individuals with high health anxiety (hypochondriasis). METHODS: Members of the public who called a 24-hour telephone helpline were offered a follow-up call by a health protection specialist for reassurance. A psychiatrist attempted to contact those callers who were unable to be reassured by the health protection specialist. RESULTS: Of 872 individuals contacted for reassurance, seven (0.6%) could not be reassured. The psychiatrist contacted four of these individuals. Three had a history of health-related anxiety and two attributed somatic symptoms to 210Po exposure. CONCLUSIONS: For individuals with hypochondriasis, reassurance during major public health incidents may be ineffective. Having a psychiatrist available was helpful in managing individuals with excessive health anxiety.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1049-023X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -