Depression and somatoform pain syndromes

Abstract

Patients suffering from Somatoform Pain Syndromes [S.P.S] are usually seen by general practitioners and more rarely by psychiatrists and they are usually treated with benzodiazepines.Relationships have been identified between chronic pain and maladaptive ways of thinking (Jensen et al 1991) affective distress (Haythornthwaite et al 1991) and low serotonin turnover (Magni et al 1987).Cognitive vulnerabilities include the sort of dysfunctional thinking associated with depression where perceptions of helplessness and hopelessness are common.Serotonin is believed to have an important role in affective disorders and in pain perception [Gershon 1986],The aims of the present study are to explore the psychopathology that occurs in patients with somatoform pain syndromes, to study in depth the psychiatric profile of the patients.Twenty [20] males and thirty-nine [39] females. Mean age m 57, 35 SD =17, 01, sufferingFrom S.P.S.There was a comparison group of healthy volunteers 23 males and 35 females. Their mean age m 48, 09 SD=14, 36.The psychometric measurements employed wereHostility was examined by the hostility and direction of hostility questionnaire [HDHQ].The HDHQ measures non-physical aggressiveness. It consist of 52 items allocated to five subclasses each measuring a different hostility dimension,Psychiatric symptomatology was evaluated by the symptom -check-list-90-R [SCL-90 R] and the Delusions Symptoms States Inventory /State of Anxiety and Depression, [DSSI / SAD].The statistical analysis was made with the use of SPSS program.The SPS patients reported significantly more symptoms of depression than the subjects without pain.