Clinical literature differentiates body dysmorphic disorder and hypochondriasis as distinct psychiatric diagnoses despite some overlapping phenomenological and compulsive features.
The retrieved literature includes psychiatric classification and differential diagnosis studies indicating that body dysmorphic disorder and hypochondriasis are recognized as separate diagnostic categories with distinct clinical foci (appearance versus illness), even if they share features or overlap in comorbidity. No retrieved papers refute the existence of clinical differences between the two conditions.