Concepts of psychosomatic disorders in ICD-10: results of the Research Criteria Study

The multicenter study with the research criteria in the field of psychotherapy/psychosomatic medicine considered nine cases. One patient with cardiac neurosis (F45.3) and one patient with a persistent somatoform pain disorder (F54.4) were diagnosed in category F45.x. The rater agreement was 63-68%. 54% of the correct diagnoses made for three cases of colitis ulcerosa and Crohn's disease concurred (28%, 50%, and 80%). The case of anorexia nervosa (F50.0) was coded correctly by all of the raters, while the agreement for bulimia (F50.2) was 82%. Only 50% of the raters correctly assigned the dissociative disorder (F44.4). The agreement achieved for factitious disorder (F68.1) was 54%. Across all the psychosomatic disorders in ICD-10 there was an agreement of 65%. This result is markedly lower than the overall agreement of the Research Criteria Study (78%). Cardiac neurosis and bulimia were given a favorable prognosis. A more reticent psychotherapeutic commitment was seen for the classical psychosomatic disorders, persistent pain disorder, and factitious disorder. Anorexia nervosa and dissociative disorder assumed an intermediate position.