Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Admission patterns of persistent somatization patients

P Fink1

  • 1Institute of Psychiatric Demography, Aarhus Psychiatric Hospital, Risskov, Denmark.

General Hospital Psychiatry
|July 1, 1993
PubMed
Summary

Persistent somatization patients overutilize healthcare resources. Early diagnosis and treatment of somatization could reduce patient suffering and healthcare system burden.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Publisher Correction: Muscle abnormalities in Long COVID.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Reply: Muscle abnormalities in Long COVID.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Prevalence of and risk factors for self-reported menstrual changes following COVID-19 vaccination: a Danish cohort study.

Human reproduction (Oxford, England)·2023
Same author

Immediate adverse reactions following COVID-19 vaccination among 16-65-year-old Danish citizens.

Vaccine·2023
Same author

Chronic effects of the strobilurin fungicide azoxystrobin in the leaf shredder Gammarus fossarum (Crustacea; Amphipoda) via two effect pathways.

Ecotoxicology and environmental safety·2021
Same author

A critical hybrid realist-outcomes systematic review of relationships between medical education programmes and communities: BEME Guide No. 35.

Medical teacher·2015

Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Health Services Research

Background:

  • Persistent somatization significantly burdens healthcare systems through excessive admissions, tests, surgeries, and medications.
  • Understanding the factors driving health-seeking behavior in somatizing patients is crucial for optimizing resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate factors contributing to the health-seeking behavior of somatizing patients.
  • To identify healthcare system aspects that facilitate the overutilization of resources by these patients.

Main Methods:

  • A comparative study of individuals (age 17-49) from two Danish municipalities with at least 10 general admissions over 8 years.
  • Comparison between persistent somatizers and other high medical admission utilizers, analyzing geographical mobility, doctor changes, admission patterns, and overlooked physical conditions.

Main Results:

  • Health-seeking behaviors of somatizing patients partially explain their overutilization of healthcare.
  • Specific patterns in admissions (time, specialty, discharges against medical advice) were observed.
  • The study highlighted the potential for missed organic pathology diagnoses.

Conclusions:

  • Overutilization of healthcare by persistent somatizers can be mitigated.
  • Physician enthusiasm for diagnosing somatization, akin to ruling out organic pathology, is recommended to reduce suffering and system burden.

Related Experiment Videos