Somatization, depression and medical illness in psychiatric inpatients

In a study to determine the relationship between somatic symptoms and psychiatric diagnosis, 206 consecutively admitted inpatients at the University of Iowa Psychiatric hospital were given a structured medical history (MH) and physical examination (PE). Depressed patients were significantly older, had an increase in number of medical diagnoses (NDX), and were found to have a significant increase in somatic symptoms in which there was no confirmatory evidence on the PE and in which there was confirmation on the PE. When age, sex, and NDX were controlled for, depressed patients did not have an increase in either of the types of somatic symptoms noted above but did have a slight increase in the vague somatic symptoms in which PE findings would be unlikely. Our results suggest that the majority of the increases in somatic symptoms in depressed patients may not be due to depressive psychopathology but rather to their increased number of medical problems and increased age.