The amplification of somatic symptoms in upper respiratory tract infections.

To assess the cultural differences in the role of somatosensory amplification in Japan and North America, we re-examined the role of psychological amplification of objective physical symptoms, as measured by the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), in 82 Japanese patients with upper-respiratory tract infections. Anxiety and depression were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). We determined the association among continuous variables using the Spearman correlation coefficient. Next, we used multiple regression analysis and selected all symptoms as independent variables. The SSAS was significantly associated with all somatic symptoms. It was also closely related to discomfort, but the SSAS was not significantly correlated with either anxiety or depression. All somatic symptoms were not significantly correlated with the objective physical findings. Multiple regression analyses indicated that amplification by SSAS was a statistically significant predictor of the patient's somatic symptoms and discomfort. The objective findings did not significantly predict the patient's symptoms. Our study provides some empirical evidence regarding psychological amplification of objective physical symptoms, as measured by SSAS, in Japanese patients with upper-respiratory tract infections. Our findings suggest that there is no difference in the role of amplification of bodily sensations between Japanese and North Americans.