© 2004 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Somatoform disorders in general practice
Prevalence, functional impairment and comorbidity with anxiety and depressive disorders
Department of General Practice and Nursing Home Medicine, Leiden University Medical Centre
Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
Correspondence: M.W.M. de Waal, LUMC Department of General Practice and Nursing Home Medicine, PO Box 2088, 2301 CB Leiden, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 71 5275318; fax: +31 71 5275325; e-mail: M.W.M.de_Waal{at}lumc.nl
See editorial, pp.
465–467, this
issue.
Background General practitioners play a pivotal part in the recognition and treatment of psychiatric disorders. Identifying somatoform disorders is important for the choice of treatment.
Aims To quantify the prevalence of, and functional impairment associated with, somatoform disorders, and their comorbidity with anxiety/depressive disorders.
Method Two-stage prevalence study: a set of questionnaires was completed by 1046 consecutive patients of general practitioners (aged 25–80 years), followed by a standardised diagnostic interview (SCAN 2.1).
Results The prevalence of somatoform disorders was 16.1% (95% CI12.8–19.4). When disorders with only mild impairment were included, the prevalence increased to 21.9%. Comorbidity of somatoform disorders and anxiety/depressive disorders was 3.3 times more likely than expected by chance. In patients with comorbid disorders, physical symptoms, depressive symptoms and functional limitations were additive.
Conclusions Our findings underline the importance of a comprehensive diagnostic approach to psychiatric disorders in general practice.
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BJP 2004 184: 465-467.[Full Text] - Highlights of this issue
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