SOMATIZATION DISORDER IN PRIMARY-CARE

Background Somatisation is a common and frustrating clinical problem i n primary care. Method Using structural diagnoses and functional measu res, we examined the prevalence and associated features of somatisatio n disorder defined by three current nosologies and an abridged constru ct in subjects using primary care services. Results Somatisation disor der, diagnosed according to the standard criteria, was found to have a very low prevalence (range 0.06-0.5%), while more than one-fifth of t he sample (22%) met the criteria for the abridged diagnosis. There was poor agreement between succeeding versions of the DSM system for iden tifying cases of somatisation disorder, each system ending up with rat her disparate sets of individuals as well as variable levels of psycho pathology and disability. Conclusions According to these data, standar d somatisation disorder diagnoses add little to the prediction of disa bility/psychopathology beyond the contributions of an abridged constru ct of somatisation.