3 FORMS OF SOMATIZATION PRESENTING IN PRIMARY-CARE SETTINGS IN SPAIN

The objective of this paper is to study the prevalence and clinical ch aracteristics of functional, hypochondriacal, and presenting somatizat ion (FSTS, HSTS, and PSTS, respectively) defined by standardized crite ria, as well as the validity of their distinction in primary care in S pain. A two-stage epidemiological study of a representative sample (N = 1559) of primary care patients was carried out. In the first phase, the validated Spanish versions of General Health Questionnaire, Mini-M ental State Examination, and CAGE were used. In the second phase, the Standardized Polyvalent Psychiatric Interview, an interview for the mu ltiaxial assessment of medical patients, was employed. The prevalence of any form of somatization in Spain was 21.3% (FSTS: 16.2%, PSTS: 9.4 %, HSTS: 6.7%). Overlap of any of the three clinical forms was very fr equent (42.7%). FSTS patients tended to be more chronic and showed hig her scores in fatigue but lower scores in both depression and anxiety. Chronicity was frequent among somatizers, particularly in those who f ulfilled more than one kind of somatization. Differences in diagnostic distribution among the three groups were also observed. In conclusion , this is the first study giving support to the validity of the distin ction among three types of somatization in Spain, but overlap was more frequent than reported in North American studies.