The relationship between cognitive functions, somatization and behavioural coping in patients with multiple...

Patients with multiple functional somatic symptoms (MFS) often express cognitive complaints. The aim of this descriptive study was to investigate whether these patients have cognitive deficits and whether the patients' cognitive functioning relates to their experience of physical and psychological distress and to their use of pain-related coping strategies.

Neuropsychological assessment of verbal ability, psychomotor speed, attention, working memory, perceptual organization and memory, was conducted on 22 MFS patients and 27 healthy age- and gender-matched controls. Psychological distress, health anxiety, health status and pain coping were measured with questionnaires [Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-somatization, SCL-depression, SCL-anxiety), the Whiteley-7 scale, the Short Form (SF-36) and the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ)].

For patients, a high score on the SCL-somatization subscale was associated with poor performance on tests of attention and psychomotor speed, and with a high score on the coping scale Increasing behavioural activities. A high score on this coping scale was associated with poor performance on tests of verbal ability and executive functioning. After controlling for years of education, controls performed significantly better than patients on verbal as well as performance IQ scales but not on tests of memory.

In the present study, we found that physical complaints are related to deficits in attention and psychomotor speed. Moreover, our results suggest that poor verbal skills may play a role in the development of MFS because of an increased tendency to apply behavioural/avoidant coping strategies. We suggest that treatment of MFS should involve training of attention as well as practicing the use of cognitive coping strategies.