[Psychosocial aspect of somatic complaints in patients after myocardial infarction]

The aim of this study was to explore the association between psychosocial variables and somatic complaints in terms of the biopsychosocial model. The analysis showed that both socioeconomic and psychological variables play a prominent role in the subjective complaints of coronary symptoms as follows: (1) Functional class: A low occupational index was found to be a predictor of much disability. Subjects with higher self-ratings of psychiatric symptoms (i.e. phobia, depression, interpersonal hypersensitivity), lower personal well-being (i.e. esteem, competence), and major social maladaptation had significantly more disability. (2) Chest pain: Patients with a higher morbidity of chest pain were more likely to be female, have less education, have more social maladjustment, and have less social support. Higher scores of psychiatric symptoms (i.e. anxiety, depression, hostility) and a perception of threatening by others were highly correlated with the severity of chest discomfort. Physicians should be aware of the ways in which psychosocial and biomedical variables may interact at many levels, especially for the patients with unexplained physical symptoms or social dysfunction.