Somatic symptoms of distress: an international primary care study

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine cross-national differences in somatic symptoms associated with psychological distress. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) collaborative study of psychological problems in general health care (5438 patients at 15 sites) were used to examine somatic symptoms associated with psychological distress. At each site, a stratified random sample of consecutive primary care patients completed the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). At all sites, the number of current CIDI somatic symptoms (whether medically explained or not) was strongly associated with current psychological distress (measured by selected GHQ-28 items). Pearson correlation of somatic symptom count with psychological distress score was .42 for all sites and ranged from .20 to .58 (p < .0001 at all sites). Across all sites, anxiety and depressive symptoms showed roughly the same association with somatic symptom counts, and specific somatic symptoms or symptom clusters did not show differential association with anxiety or depression. Although somatic symptoms did cluster into meaningful groups (gastrointestinal, neurological/conversion, autonomic, and musculoskeletal), these symptom groups did not show differential association with psychological distress. Examination of individual somatic symptoms and symptom clusters across sites did not reveal clear patterns of association according to geography or level of economic development. These data show a strong association between somatic symptoms and psychological distress, which did not vary across disparate cultures and levels of economic development. Cultural factors, however, may influence the meaning attached to symptoms or the likelihood of presentation for health care.