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Published on: January 18, 2021
PTSD and somatization in women treated at a VA primary care clinic
Rodrigo Escalona1, Georgiana Achilles, Howard Waitzkin
1New Mexico VA Health Care System, Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA. pescalona@salud.unm.edu
Abstract:
The authors examined the association between trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and somatization in 264 women attending a Department of Veterans Affairs primary care clinic. Using a structured computerized interview (Composite International Diagnostic Interview), they found that traumatic events were reported by 81% of the women. The lifetime prevalence of PTSD was 27%; for somatization it was 19%. PTSD was the best predictor of somatization after control for demographic variables, veteran status, and other mood and anxiety disorders. Psychological numbing symptoms of PTSD emerged as a particularly strong predictor of somatization. The link between PTSD and somatization deserves further study.
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