Functional Somatic Disorder: A Postmedical Event Stress Disorder?

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Internal Medicine

Background:

• Functional somatic disorders (FSD) involve persistent physical symptoms causing distress and disability.
• FSD present diagnostic and mechanistic challenges for clinicians.
• A history of stressful medical events is common in FSD patients, suggesting a potential trigger.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel conceptualization of a subset of FSD cases.
• To hypothesize that these FSD cases can be understood as a "post-medical event stress disorder."
• To draw parallels between FSD and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Main Methods:

• Re-interpretation of FSD symptoms as consequences of stressful medical events.
• Detailed examination of psychopathological processes underlying symptom emergence and persistence.
• Drawing parallels with established post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) models.

Main Results:

• A subset of FSD may be conceptualized as analogous to PTSD.
• FSD symptoms can be re-interpreted as stress responses to medical events.
• Psychopathological processes can explain symptom persistence in specific patients.

Conclusions:

• A "post-medical event stress disorder" framework offers a new perspective on a subset of FSD.
• Therapeutic strategies successful in PTSD treatment may be applicable to this FSD subgroup.
• Further research is needed to validate this PTSD-like mechanism in FSD.