Uh oh! This study says worrying about getting sick makes you sicker

Worrying about getting sick can actually make you sick, a new study claims.

About 5 to 10 percent of the population suffer from health anxiety, a condition that makes you worry about getting sick. Health anxiety can range from mild worry to full-blown hypochondria.

It turns out people with health anxiety also have a 70% higher risk of heart disease, according to a new study.

The study, published in BMJ Open, tracked the heart health of 7,000 Norweigian people from 1997 to 2009. In those 12 years, about 3% of total participants developed heart disease, compared to the 6% of participants with health anxiety who did. Even controlling for other heart disease risks, there was a 70% increased risk for people with health anxiety.

“There is a saying in the way we treat these people in the clinic: it’s not dangerous, it’s just anxiety, keep on living your life, said lead researcher Line Iden Berge.

In other words: Deep breaths. Worrying will get you nowhere.