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Related Experiment Videos

Subjective health complaints.

Hege R Eriksen1, Camilla Ihlebaek

  • 1Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway. hege.eriksen@psych.uib.no

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
|May 15, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Subjective health complaints are common, with 75% experiencing them. While often lacking objective findings, these symptoms significantly impact healthcare encounters and work absence, highlighting a need for better understanding.

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Area of Science:

  • General Medicine
  • Psychiatry
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Subjective health complaints, often without objective findings, manifest as recurrent societal epidemics under various labels.
  • These complaints, including muscle pain, are primary reasons for general practitioner visits and a major cause of sickness absence.
  • A high prevalence (over 75%) of subjective health complaints exists, making them statistically 'normal' within the population.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the nature and prevalence of subjective health complaints.
  • To understand the challenges in diagnosing and managing conditions with few objective findings.
  • To contextualize the psychiatric perspective on these widespread health issues.

Main Methods:

  • Review of societal patterns of subjective illnesses.
  • Analysis of general practitioner encounter data and sickness absence records.
  • Examination of population prevalence statistics for subjective health complaints.

Main Results:

  • Subjective health complaints are widespread, with a majority of the population experiencing them.
  • Objective medical findings are frequently absent or insufficient to explain the reported symptoms.
  • The threshold for seeking medical assistance is highly individual and subjective.

Conclusions:

  • Subjective health complaints represent a significant and common aspect of healthcare, often with unclear etiology.
  • The psychiatric framework for these complaints may only address the most severe manifestations (the 'tip of the iceberg').
  • Further research is needed to address the management and understanding of these prevalent conditions.

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