The DOI matches its Crossref record; 41 of the 42 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Somatic symptom burden and health anxiety in the population and their correlates
Abstract
Objective Somatic symptom burden and health anxiety demonstrate overlapping clinical characteristics but their relationship in the general population is unclear. This study examined the association between these dimensions after adjustment for confounders and their respective correlation with outcome measures.Methods A randomly selected population-based sample of 3014 respondents aged 15-65 was interviewed by telephone using a structured questionnaire that included the 15-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15), Whiteley-7, Kessler-6, Sheehan Disability Scale, socio-demographic variables and items regarding health care utilization. Respondents who scored 10 or above on PHQ-15 and 4 or above on Whiteley-5 were regarded as having high somatic symptom burden and high health anxiety respectively.Results Somatic symptom burden and health anxiety are moderately correlated after adjustment for confounders (p<.001). Both have important effects on psychological distress, functional impairment and health care utilization independent of each other (ps<.001). A considerable number of respondents (5.7%) reported both high somatic symptom burden and high health anxiety and this group showed the greatest general psychological distress, functional impairment and health care utilization.Conclusion This study demonstrates the close association of somatic symptom burden and health anxiety but also their independent association with psychological distress, functional impairment and health care utilization. The findings support the concept of the DSM-5 category of somatic symptom disorder, but also demonstrate that individuals with high somatic symptom burden or high health anxiety alone may merit separate diagnoses. More sophisticated studies of the relationship between somatic symptom burden and health anxiety are needed.
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“Health anxiety in particular is associated with greater levels of distress, thus warranting a greater need for psychological support [11-13].”
From A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Chatbot (Otis) for Health Anxiety Management: Mixed Methods Pilot Study (2022) · cites this paper as [12]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Lee, S., Creed, F. H., Ma, Y.-L., & Leung, C. M.
- Affiliations
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lee, Sing
- Venue
- Journal of Psychosomatic Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-01
- Volume
- 78
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 71-76
- ISSN
- 0022-3999 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2004636215
- Cited by
- 89
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 4.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Psychosomatic Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research
- Keywords
- somatic symptom burden, health anxiety, psychological distress, functional disability, health care utilization, somatic symptom disorder, DSM-5, PHQ-15, Kessler-6, Sheehan Disability Scale, general population
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Female, Health Status, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sampling Studies, Cost of Illness
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