BACKGROUND: This is the first attempt to study the prevalence and clinical characteristics of somatisation (ST) in a representative primary care sample in Spain. METHOD: The sample consisted of 1559 consecutive patients attending eight randomly selected health centres in Zaragoza, Spain, examined by two-phase screening. First phase (lay interviewers): Spanish versions of GHQ-28, CAGE questionnaire, substance abuse, Mini-Mental State Examination. Second phase (research clinicians and psychiatrists): Standardised Polyvalent Psychiatric Interview, which permits the reliable coding of Bridges & Goldberg's ST criteria. RESULTS: The prevalence of somatisers was 9.4% (34.5% of the cases) and most patients (68.7%) were diagnosed in the depression or anxiety DSM-IV categories. The severity was moderate in 401% and 66.6% were chronic (six or more months). No significant demographic differences were found with non-cases. Backache was the most frequent somatic presentation (71.4+%). CONCLUSIONS: ST in primary care is a much broader phenomenon than categories such as somatoform disorders reflect. It may be less influenced by sociodemographic factors, but more chronic than previously reported.
BACKGROUND: This is the first attempt to study the prevalence and clinical characteristics of somatisation (ST) in a representative primary care sample in Spain. METHOD: The sample consisted of 1559 consecutive patients attending eight randomly selected health centres in Zaragoza, Spain, examined by two-phase screening. First phase (lay interviewers): Spanish versions of GHQ-28, CAGE questionnaire, substance abuse, Mini-Mental State Examination. Second phase (research clinicians and psychiatrists): Standardised Polyvalent Psychiatric Interview, which permits the reliable coding of Bridges & Goldberg's ST criteria. RESULTS: The prevalence of somatisers was 9.4% (34.5% of the cases) and most patients (68.7%) were diagnosed in the depression or anxiety DSM-IV categories. The severity was moderate in 401% and 66.6% were chronic (six or more months). No significant demographic differences were found with non-cases. Backache was the most frequent somatic presentation (71.4+%). CONCLUSIONS: ST in primary care is a much broader phenomenon than categories such as somatoform disorders reflect. It may be less influenced by sociodemographic factors, but more chronic than previously reported.
Authors: Maria Christina Dehoust; Holger Schulz; Martin Härter; Jana Volkert; Susanne Sehner; Anna Drabik; Karl Wegscheider; Alessandra Canuto; Kerstin Weber; Mike Crawford; Alan Quirk; Luigi Grassi; Chiara DaRonch; Manuel Munoz; Berta Ausin; Anna Santos-Olmo; Arieh Shalev; Ora Rotenstein; Yael Hershkowitz; Jens Strehle; Hans-Ulrich Wittchen; Sylke Andreas Journal: Int J Methods Psychiatr Res Date: 2017-02-01 Impact factor: 4.035
Authors: Miguel A Salinero-Fort; Rodrigo Jiménez-García; Carmen de Burgos-Lunar; Rosa M Chico-Moraleja; Paloma Gómez-Campelo Journal: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Date: 2014-10-02 Impact factor: 4.328
Authors: Abdulbari Bener; Suhaila Ghuloum; Ahmed A K Al-Mulla; Saleh Al-Marri; Mohammed S Hashim; Isam-Eldin A Elbagi Journal: Libyan J Med Date: 2010-06-16 Impact factor: 1.657