Some unexplored regions of psychosomatic medicine

The history of psychosomatic medicine in the 20th century is predominantly marked by a concern with studies of major diseases (e.g., angina pectoris, bronchial asthma, diabetes mellitus, essential hypertension, neurodermatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.). Traditional physicians also narrowly focus on disease--a trend that began with Morgagni in the 18th century. But disease (defined by structural alterations) is not the only cause of illness and disability. In fact, most persons seeking health care are ill without having a disease. It is only recently that this distinction has been fully made. The various manifestations of ill-health go by a variety of descriptive names--the functional or irritable bowel and hyperventilation syndromes, fibromyositis, psychophysiological, functional and somatoform or somatization disorders. They lead to loss of productivity, cost the health care system excessively, produce negative reactions in physicians, and are fertile ground for iatrogenic disease. They do not constitute discrete syndromes but overlap, each also being closely associated with anxiety and depression, sleep disturbances or marital disruption. They are the manifestations of sick persons not only of disturbances of bodily systems. They may be precipitated by unemployment, marital discord, bereavement, and job dissatisfaction. Curiously, ill-health has not been the major area of investigative interest of psychosomatic medicine. This presentation will emphasize why it should be, and why proper interventions may radically reduce the cost of medical care, prevent iatrogenic disease, and reduce the use of ill-advised procedures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)