F45 — Somatoform disorders

Concept, in one sentence

F45 requires physical symptoms or illness preoccupation not adequately explained by disease after a genuinely completed medical work-up.

Decisive boundary cues

• Multiple, recurring, changing symptoms across organ systems over years, adequately investigated -> weighs toward F45.0.
• A fixed conviction of one specific serious disease despite reassurance -> weighs toward F45.2.
• Investigation genuinely incomplete or still pending -> the classification cannot yet be confirmed, and more information should be sought.

Duration/course cue

Somatization disorder: conventionally at least two years. Hypochondriacal disorder: a sustained preoccupation over months to years.

Nearest alternatives

f44, f48

Common mistake

Defaulting to a somatoform classification for physical symptoms that are simply not yet explained, without confirming that an adequate medical work-up has actually been completed.

Retrieval prompt — one-line memory anchor

Has an adequate medical work-up genuinely been completed and failed to explain these symptoms, or is investigation simply still incomplete?