Laurence Astill Wright1, Neil P Roberts2, Catrin Lewis3, Natalie Simon3, Philip Hyland4, Grace W K Ho5, Eoin McElroy6, Jonathan I Bisson3. 1. Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, UK. Electronic address: laurencewright@doctors.org.uk. 2. Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, UK; Cardiff & Vale University Health Board, UK. 3. Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, UK. 4. School of Psychology, Maynooth University, Kildare, Ireland. 5. School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. 6. Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: While research demonstrates that somatisation is highly correlated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the relationship between International Classification of Diseases 11th edition (ICD-11) PTSD, complex PTSD (CPTSD) and somatisation has not previously been determined. OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between frequency and severity of somatisation and ICD-11 PTSD/CPTSD. METHOD: This cross-sectional study included 222 individuals recruited to the National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH) PTSD cohort. We assessed rates of Patient Health Questionnaire 15 (PHQ-15) somatisation stratified by ICD-11 PTSD/CPTSD status. Path analysis was used to explore the relationship between PTSD/CPTSD and somatisation, including number of traumatic events, age, and gender as controls. RESULTS: 70% (58/83) of individuals with CPTSD had high PHQ-15 somatisation symptom severity compared with 48% (12/25) of those with PTSD (chi-square: 95.1, p value <0.001). Path analysis demonstrated that core PTSD symptoms and not disturbances in self organisation (DSO) symptoms were associated with somatisation (unstandardised coefficients: 0.616 (p-value 0.017) and - 0.012 (p-value 0.962) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with CPTSD have higher somatisation than those with PTSD. The core features of PTSD, not the DSO, characteristic of CPTSD, were associated with somatisation.
BACKGROUND: While research demonstrates that somatisation is highly correlated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the relationship between International Classification of Diseases 11th edition (ICD-11) PTSD, complex PTSD (CPTSD) and somatisation has not previously been determined. OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between frequency and severity of somatisation and ICD-11 PTSD/CPTSD. METHOD: This cross-sectional study included 222 individuals recruited to the National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH) PTSD cohort. We assessed rates of Patient Health Questionnaire 15 (PHQ-15) somatisation stratified by ICD-11 PTSD/CPTSD status. Path analysis was used to explore the relationship between PTSD/CPTSD and somatisation, including number of traumatic events, age, and gender as controls. RESULTS: 70% (58/83) of individuals with CPTSD had high PHQ-15 somatisation symptom severity compared with 48% (12/25) of those with PTSD (chi-square: 95.1, p value <0.001). Path analysis demonstrated that core PTSD symptoms and not disturbances in self organisation (DSO) symptoms were associated with somatisation (unstandardised coefficients: 0.616 (p-value 0.017) and - 0.012 (p-value 0.962) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with CPTSD have higher somatisation than those with PTSD. The core features of PTSD, not the DSO, characteristic of CPTSD, were associated with somatisation.
Authors: Roger J Mullins; Timothy J Meeker; Paige M Vinch; Ingrid K Tulloch; Mark I Saffer; Jui-Hong Chien; O Joseph Bienvenu; Frederick A Lenz Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-06-11 Impact factor: 4.614