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Somatized depression in primary care attenders
Enric Aragonès1, Antonio Labad, Josep Ll Piñol
1Constantí Primary Care Centre, Catalan Health Institute, Spain. earagones.tarte.ics@gencat.net
Journal of Psychosomatic Research
|April 12, 2005
Summary
Depression often presents as physical symptoms in primary care. Patients with somatic complaints (somatizers) experience less severe depression but face under-detection and lower treatment rates compared to those with psychological symptoms.
Area of Science:
- General Practice
- Psychiatry
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Depression is a common mental health condition with diverse presentations.
- In primary care, somatic symptoms frequently mask underlying depression.
- Understanding somatization is crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the frequency of somatic symptom presentation in primary care depression.
- To compare characteristics and outcomes of somatizers versus psychologizers.
Main Methods:
- A two-phase cross-sectional study involving screening and detailed interviews.
- 906 consecutive primary care patients were initially screened.
- 306 selected patients underwent in-depth interviews.
Main Results:
- The prevalence of depression was 16.8%.
- Somatizers (45 cases) presented with physical complaints, while 59 had psychological presentations.
- Somatizers had lower education, less severe depression, and received less detection, treatment, and psychiatric care.
Conclusions:
- Somatization is a common manifestation of depression in primary care settings.
- Somatic presentations of depression are often less severe but undertreated.
- Somatization is linked to under-detection of underlying psychiatric conditions.