[Body image and psychiatric comorbidity in patients with somatoform gastrointestinal disorders]

The significance of body perception and satisfaction with one's own body in patients with somatoform disorders of the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract is presently unknown, as is the relationship thereof to depression and other psychiatric comorbidities.

Consecutive patients from the outpatient clinic of a university centre presenting with symptoms suggestive of somatoform gastrointestinal disorders were examined by gastroenterological and psychosomatic experts. In addition, psychological tests (The Body Image Questionnaire, FKB-20, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS-D) were carried out.

Complete data from n = 44 patients were evaluated. In 64 % of patients we found high scores of anxiety, and in 45 % high scores of depression. In the FKB-20, 32 % of patients scored high on the "Negative Evaluation of the Body" subscale (AKB), and 96 % had low scores on the subscale "Perception of Body Dynamics" (VKD). Patients with functional bowel disorders perceived their own body significantly more negative than did healthy controls and patients after acute myocardial infarction. The AKB subscale of the FKB-20 correlated significantly and positively with anxiety in the HADS. HADS depression in turn correlated negatively with the VKD subscale of the FKB-20: Patients with low scores in depression report higher vitality.

Nearly half of the patients with somatoform gastrointestinal disorders seen at a university centre exhibited high scores in anxiety and depression. A substantial fraction reported disturbed body perception and satisfaction with their own body image. These patients have not yet found their place between somatic medicine and psychotherapy: Although somatic und psychological symptoms coexist to a similar degree, patients tend to focus predominantly on their somatic complaints.