A clinical case of anxiety-hypochondriacal depression with extensive somatized symptoms in the elderly

In routine clinical practice, healthcare providers across various specialties frequently encounter elderly patients presenting with long-standing multiple bodily complaints, often in the absence of persuasive evidence indicative of a somatic disease’s presence or progression. The urgency of addressing this issue stems from the high prevalence of late-life depression, its significant contribution to disability and mortality rates, and the often subtle presentation of affective symptoms in this demographic. Affective disorders frequently remain unrecognized, resulting in extended diagnostic processes, polypharmacy, and a marked decline in patients’ quality of life. This clinical case illustrates the emergence of persistent anxiety-hypochondriacal depression characterized by substantial somatized symptoms in an individual predisposed to avoidant behavior with prior neuropathic somatoperceptive accentuation in old age. This case underscores the imperative need for an interdisciplinary approach, with a psychiatrist’s involvement prioritized when addressing this patient cohort.