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Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
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Physical functioning in older persons with somatoform disorders: a pilot study.

Carolien E M Benraad1, Peter H Hilderink, Dorine T J W van Driel

  • 1Pro Persona Centre for Integrative Mental Health Care, Department of Old Age Psychiatry and Geriatrics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. c.benraad@propersona.nl

Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
|October 27, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study found that older adults with somatoform disorders often have medically unexplained symptoms that are partially explained by comorbidities. Comprehensive geriatric assessment is crucial for accurate diagnosis in this population.

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Area of Science:

  • Geriatrics
  • Psychiatry
  • Internal Medicine

Background:

  • Older adults with somatoform disorders present unique challenges in diagnosis.
  • Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are common in this demographic.
  • Physical functioning in this population has been understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically examine the physical functioning of older persons with somatoform disorders.
  • To test the hypothesis that higher somatic disease burden correlates with increased somatization.
  • To evaluate the utility of comprehensive geriatric assessment in diagnosing older adults with MUS.

Main Methods:

  • Observational study of 37 older adults referred for MUS.
  • Utilized a multidisciplinary diagnostic procedure including comprehensive geriatric assessment.
  • Measured physical functioning (Timed Up and Go, hand grip strength), somatic comorbidity (CIRS-G), and somatization (Whitley Index).

Main Results:

  • Only 8% of patients had symptoms fully explained by somatic disease.
  • Half of patients with somatoform disorder had symptoms partially explained by somatic comorbidity.
  • Higher somatic comorbidity was linked to poorer physical functioning (slower gait, lower grip strength), contrary to the hypothesis that it would correlate with higher somatization.

Conclusions:

  • Comprehensive geriatric assessment is valuable for older adults with MUS.
  • Careful assessment can reveal partial or full explanations for symptoms in about half of these patients.
  • Findings highlight the complex interplay between physical health, frailty, and somatization in older adults.