Comorbid painful physical symptoms and anxiety: Prevalence, work loss and help-seeking
Open accessAbstract
Background There is evidence that painful physical symptoms (PPS) are increased in patients with anxiety disorder (AD). This survey reports the 12-month prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of PPS in subjects with and without AD, taking into account somatic comorbidity. In addition, the impact of PPS on work loss days (WLDs) and help-seeking was examined.Methods In a cross-sectional, population-based study, a representative random sample of non-institutionalised adults from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Spain (N=21,425) was interviewed using the World Mental Health Composite Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.0 of the WHO). 8296 respondents provided data on the occurrence of PPS, from which 5489 respondents reported the number of work loss days.Results PPS were reported by 28% of respondents without AD and by 45% in those with AD. Female gender, higher age and lower educational level were predictive of PPS. No additive effect of AD and PPS was found on the WLD score, neither did the presence or not of a comorbid somatic disorder change the findings. Finally, respondents with both AD and PPS had numerically higher rates of help-seeking for emotional reasons (20.8% vs. 15.0% for respondents with AD but not PPS) and delayed their help-seeking for a numerically shorter period of time (289 vs. 413 days, respectively).Limitations The most important limitation of this study was its reliance on self-reported data about somatic disorders.Conclusion Approximately 45% of persons with anxiety disorder also reported the presence of PPS. No additive effect of AD and PPS was found on the WLD score, and the presence of PPS in AD does not delay help-seeking for emotional problems.
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Chronic pain is highly prevalent worldwide and associated with major personal and societal burden.
“Chronic pain is highly prevalent worldwide and associated with major personal and societal burden.1–5”
From Clinical and cost-effectiveness of a guided internet-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to improve chronic pain-related disability in green professions (PACT-A): Study protocol of a pragmatic randomised controlled trial (2020) · cites this paper as [3]
The Results (sections 3.1 and 3.4; page numbers unavailable) report painful physical symptoms in 29.3% of respondents and more work-loss days among respondents with pain but without anxiety. These findings support substantial prevalence and a work-related burden, but the sample was from six European countries, not worldwide, and the measured symptoms were not all chronic pain. The paper does not establish a worldwide personal and societal burden. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Demyttenaere, K., Bonnewyn, A., Bruffaerts, R., De Graaf, R., Haro, J. M., & Alonso, J.
- Affiliations
- Universitair Ziekenhuis Leuven (BE)
- Institut Municipal d'Assistència Sanitària (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Demyttenaere, Koen
- Venue
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-08
- Volume
- 109
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 264-272
- ISSN
- 0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2101267386
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 2.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- Eli Lilly and Company
- Pfizer
- GlaxoSmithKline
- European Commission (QLG5–1999-01042)
- Regione Piemonte (00/0028)
- National Institutes of Health (5r13mh066849-04, 5r01mh069864-04)
- Pfizer Foundation (R01‐MH069864)
- Pan American Health Organization
- National Institute of Mental Health (1R13 MH066849, R01‐MH069864)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA016558)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- anxiety disorders, somatic comorbidity, prevalence, work loss, help-seeking, help-seeking delay, sociodemographic predictors, gender differences, educational attainment
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Anxiety Disorders, Employment, Female, Humans, Male, Pain, Pain Measurement, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Predictive Value of Tests, Prospective Studies, Psychophysiologic Disorders, Comorbidity, Prevalence, Young Adult
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