Prevalence, Characteristics, and Attribution of Somatic Symptoms in Spanish Patients With Major Depressive Disorder Seeking Primary Health Care

2008 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 520-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Caballero ◽  
Enric Aragonès ◽  
Javier García-Campayo ◽  
Fernando Rodríguez-Artalejo ◽  
Jose Luis Ayuso-Mateos ◽  
...  
2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
A. Bener

Objective:The aim of this study was to examine the gender differences in the prevalence of somatoform disorders among a sample of Qatari patients who were visiting primary health care (PHC) centres and to investigate the severity of most frequent somatic symptoms in these patients.Method:The first stage of the study was conducted with the help of general practitioners (GPs), using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). the second stage was carried out by a psychiatrist using the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS). the survey was conducted among patients presenting to the primary health care centres over the period from January to July, 2007. 2320 subjects were approached and a total of 1689 patientsagreed to participate and responded to the questionnaire. among the screened Qatari patients, 404 patients, 211 males (52.2%) and 193 females (47.8%), were identified for clinical interview.Results:The prevalence rate of somatoform disorders among the total screened sample was 23.9%. the prevalence rate was slightly higher in women (24.2%) than in men (23.7%). Prolonged depressive reaction was significantly higher in women compared to men (p=0.003). There was a significant gender difference in certain psychiatric diagnostic categories such as depressive episode, recurrent depressive disorder, dysthymia and brief depressive reaction. Backache was the most common reported symptom in men, while headache was more common in women.Conclusion:Prevalence of somatoform disorders was slightly higher in Qatari women than in men. There was a significant difference found between men and women in certain diagnosis categories and somatic symptoms.


2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Zimmerman ◽  
J. N. Galione ◽  
I. Chelminski ◽  
J. B. McGlinchey ◽  
D. Young ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe DSM-IV symptom criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) are somewhat lengthy, with many studies showing that treatment providers have difficulty recalling all nine symptoms. Moreover, the criteria include somatic symptoms that are difficult to apply in patients with medical illnesses. In a previous report, we developed a briefer definition of MDD that was composed of the mood and cognitive symptoms of the DSM-IV criteria, and found high levels of agreement between the simplified and full DSM-IV definitions. The goal of the present study was to replicate these findings in another large sample of psychiatric out-patients and to extend the findings to other patient samples.MethodWe interviewed 1100 psychiatric out-patients and 210 pathological gamblers presenting for treatment and 1200 candidates for bariatric surgery. All patients were interviewed by a diagnostic rater who administered a semi-structured interview. We inquired about all symptoms of depression for all patients.ResultsIn all three samples high levels of agreement were found between the DSM-IV and the simpler definition of MDD. Summing across all 2510 patients, the level of agreement between the two definitions was 95.5% and the κ coefficient was 0.87.ConclusionsAfter eliminating the four somatic criteria from the DSM-IV definition of MDD, a high level of concordance was found between this simpler definition and the original DSM-IV classification. This new definition offers two advantages over the current DSM-IV definition – it is briefer and it is easier to apply with medically ill patients because it is free of somatic symptoms.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
George I. Papakostas ◽  
Timothy Petersen ◽  
Megan E. Hughes ◽  
Andrew A. Nierenberg ◽  
Jonathan E. Alpert ◽  
...  

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