Somatization disorder

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}} Somatization disorder (or "Briquet's disorder") is a type of mental illness in which a patient manifests a psychiatric condition as a physical complaint. One prevalent general etiological explanation is that internal psychological conflicts are unconsciously expressed as physical signs.

1 Criteria
2 Prevalence
3 Bibliography
4 See also
5 External links

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Criteria

Somatization disorder is characterized by repeated complaints of physical illness over an extended period of time, that are not related to actual organic illness or injury, and begins in early adulthood. The DSM-IV establishes the following four criteria for the diagnosis of this disorder:

a history of somatic symptoms prior to the age of 30
pain in at least four different sites on the body including two gastrointestinal symptoms
one sexual symptom
one pseudoneurological symptom.

Such symptoms cannot be related to any medical condition. If a medical condition is present, then the symptoms must be excessive enough to warrant a separate diagnosis. Finally, the symptoms cannot be the result of Factitious disorder, Malingering, or similar manner of deliberately inducing symptoms.

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Prevalence

Somatization disorder is about ten times more common among women than men. There is usually co-morbidity with other disorders. According to the DSM-IV, the disorder has a lifetime prevalence of 0.2% in males and 0.2% to 2% in females. This condition is chronic and has a poor prognosis.

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Bibliography

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC.
Bizer, J. (2003). "Somatization disorders in obstetrics and gynecology." Achieves of Women’s Mental Health, 6, 99-107.
Hakala, M. (2004). "Volumes of the caudate nuclei in women with somatization disorder and healthy women." Psychiatry Research, 131(1), 71-78.
Hakala, M., Karlsson, H., Ruotsalainen, U., Koponen, S., Bergman, J., Stenman, H., et al. (2002). "Severe somatization in women is associated with altered cerebral glucose metabolism." Psychological Medicine, 32(8), 1379-1385.
Holder-Perkins, V., & Wise, T.N. (2001). "Somatization Disorder." In J.M. Oldham & M.B. Riba (Series Eds.) & K.A. Phillips (Vol. Ed.), Review of Psychiatry: Vol. 20. Somatization and Factitious Disorder (pp 1-26). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Looper, K.J., & Kirmayer, L.J. (2002). "Behavioral medicine approaches to somatoform disorders." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(3), 810-827.
Martini, D.R. (Spring 1997). Somatoform disorders in the pediatric population. Journal of Children’s Memorial Hospital. Retrieved December 7, 2004 from http://www.childsdoc.org/spring97/martini/somatoformdis.asp
Niemi, P.M., Portin, R., Aalto, S., Hakala, M., & Karlsson, H. (2002). Cognitive functioning in severe somatization—a pilot study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 106, 461-463.
Stahl, S.M. (2003). Antidepressants and somatic symptoms: Therapeutic actions are expanding beyond affective spectrum disorders to functional somatic syndromes. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 64(7), 745-746.
Temple, S. (2003). A case of multiple chemical sensitivities: Cognitive therapy for somatization disorder and Metaworry. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 17(3), 267-277.