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  2. ICD-10-CM Codes List
  3. F01–F99
  4. F40-F48
  5. Phobic anxiety disorders (F40)

Phobic anxiety disorders (F40)

Phobic anxiety disorders (F40) encompass a range of excessive fears characterized by intense avoidance and distress triggered by specific situations or objects. These ICD-10 codes are used to classify conditions such as agoraphobia, social phobias, and various specific phobias including fear of animals, natural environments, blood or injections, and situational fears like claustrophobia or fear of flying.

The ICD-10 code for phobic anxiety disorders, F40, includes subdivisions that help medical coders identify the precise type of phobia. For example, F40.0 covers agoraphobia, which is the fear of open spaces or going out, with further details under F40.00 for unspecified agoraphobia and F40.01 when it is accompanied by panic disorder. Social phobias, captured under F40.1, range from generalized social anxiety to fears like public speaking (“fear of public speaking”). Specific phobias, noted as F40.2, include fears such as arachnophobia (F40.210), fear of thunderstorms (F40.220), and needle phobia (F40.231). These codes enable precise documentation and support treatment planning for patients with distinct phobic conditions.

Clinical Terms

The following clinical terms provide additional context, helping users better understand the clinical background and common associations for each diagnosis listed in this section. Including related terms alongside ICD-10-CM codes supports coders, billers, and healthcare professionals in improving accuracy, enhancing documentation, and facilitating research or patient education.

Agoraphobia

Obsessive, persistent, intense fear of places or situations from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing.

Claustrophobia

Persistent and irrational fear of enclosed places (e.g., elevators, closets, tunnels) or of being confined (e.g., in an airplane or the backseat of a car). Situations where enclosure or confinement may be encountered are often avoided or else endured with intense anxiety or distress. The focus of fear is typically on panic symptoms triggered in these situations, such as feelings of being unable to breathe, choking, sweating, and fears of losing control. (From APA Dictionary of Psychology, accessed 11/8/2023)

Hypochondriasis

Preoccupation with the fear of having, or the idea that one has, a serious disease based on the person's misinterpretation of bodily symptoms. (APA, DSM-IV)

Performance Anxiety

Anxiety related to the execution of a task. (Campbell's Psychiatric Dictionary, 9th ed.)

Xenophobia

Intense or irrational dislike or fear of anything that is strange or foreign, particularly of people who are strangers or foreigners. It is an attitudinal orientation of hostility against non-natives in a given population that includes attitudes, prejudices and behavior that reject, exclude or vilify persons, based on the perception that they are outsiders or foreigners to the community, society or national identity.