Clinical characters of the patients with somatic symptom disorder

Objective To explore the clinical characters of patients with somatic symptom disorder (SSD) in a tertiary general hospital. Methods 210 patients from the outpatient clinic of the mental health department, the traditional Chinese medicine department and the gastroenterology department, who fit the criteria after filling in a self-rating questionnaire, were evaluated by a diagnostic interview for somatic symptom disorder (SSD). The clinical characters of patients with SSD were compared among different departments, and with other patients without SSD. Results (1) 27.1% (57/210) were diagnosed as SSD, with the age of (43±13) years old, and 61.4% (35/57) were female. The differences of the demographic characteristics and the lifestyle between the SSD and the non-SSD were not statistically significant. (2) 45.6% (26/57) SSD patients had their duration of the somatic symptoms more than 2 years; 29.2% (17/57) SSD patients went to see doctors more than 20 times within recent one year. 46.8% (22/47) SSD patients who had received any treatment within the past 6 months evaluated it as effective, and 44.7% (21/47) SSD patients evaluated it as satisfactory. (3)The SSD patients reported more severe symptoms than those without SSD since the score of PHQ15 in SSD patients was 11 compared 7 in non-SSD patients (Z=4.876, P<0.001) . The SSD patients were more disabled than those without SSD in all three departments with the DAS score 33, 25, 30 respectively (Z=5.429, P<0.001) , and the disability of SSD patients was similar to those non-SSD in the mental health clinic (Z=0.894, P=0.371) . There were no statistical differences in lifestyle, treatment evaluation and self-rating questionnaire in the SSD patients among the three departments. Conclusion SSD is quite prevalent in outpatient clinics in general hospitals and exerts substantial negative impact to their mental and physical health, as well as the daily functioning. SSD deserves more attention and effort to be managed in consultation-liaison psychiatry. Key words: somatoform disorder; somatic symptom disorder; population characteristics; consultation-liaison psychiatry