Psychosomatic Symptoms in Preadolescent Children

Tamminen, Tuula; Bredenberg, P.; Escartin, T.; Kaukonen, Pälvi; Puura, Kaija; Rutanen, Mervi; Suominen, Inkeri; Leijala, H.; Salmelin, Raili

doi:10.1159/000288533

Cited by 27 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In Spanish preschoolers aged 3-5 years [22], frequent somatic complaints, most likely medically unexplained, were found in 20%, and in 7-12-year-old Nordic schoolchildren, 25% were reported to present psychosomatic symptoms [12]. The findings in the present study that limb pain, abdominal pain and headache were the most prevalent and prominent FSS and the substantial co-occurrence of these functional pain symptoms in this age group are also in line with the results from other studies [22][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Functional somatic symptoms and associated impairment in 5–7-year-old children: the Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000

et al. 2009

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Research on somatisation or functional disorders, characterised by the subjective report of physical symptoms in the absence of clear physical pathology, in young children is limited. This study investigates the distribution, types and co-occurrence of parent-reported functional somatic symptoms (FSS) and their impairment in a population-based sample of Danish 5-7-year-old children. Data were obtained from a 5-7-year follow-up of the Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000. The entire study population included 3,000 randomly sampled children from the cohort. Among these FSS measures were obtained for 1,327 children. The newly introduced parent interview, the soma assessment interview, was used to assess the child's FSS. Impairing symptoms were defined as FSS that caused substantial discomfort, impairment of everyday life, absence from day-care or school and/or help-seeking in the health care system. The 1-year prevalence of any FSS was 23.2% (N = 308) and higher in girls than boys (27.6 vs. 18.8%, P < 0.0001). Impairing FSS were found in 4.4% (N = 58). Pain complaints, i.e. limb pain, headache and abdominal pain, were the most frequently reported FSS. Among the 308 children with FSS, 66 (21.4%) presented with two or more of these functional pain complaints, while 15 (4.9%) had all three types. The findings indicate that FSS are common health complaints in 5-7-year-old children. A subgroup with impairing FSS with a likely need of clinical intervention was identified. This suggests that a somatisation pattern may start early in life and call for future studies to include associated impairment in the investigation of childhood FSS.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Functional somatic symptoms and associated impairment in 5–7-year-old children: the Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000

et al. 2009

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“…It must be noted that we have used the term "psychosomatic" to refer to symptoms that are chiefly considered expressions of psychological stress rather than manifestations of organic disorders based on previous research in children [44,45]. The same term was used in our previous reports [26,27], as well as by other researchers [46,47]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk factors for development of non-specific musculoskeletal pain in preteens and early adolescents: a prospective 1-year follow-up study

El-Metwally

Salminen

Auvinen

et al. 2007

BMC Musculoskelet Disord

114

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Background: Musculoskeletal pain symptoms are common in children and adolescents. These symptoms have a negative impact on children's physical and emotional well-being, but their underlying aetiology and risk factors are still poorly understood. Most of the previous cohort studies were conducted among mid and/or late adolescents and were mainly focused on a specific pain location (e.g. low back pain or neck pain). The purpose of this study is to estimate occurrence of new-onset pain symptoms, in all musculoskeletal locations, in preteens and early adolescents and investigate risk factors for development of these symptoms.

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“…Approximately a third of all children between eight and eighteen years of age report headaches, stomach-aches or other physical complaints at least once a week (Garber, Walker, & Zeman, 1991;Roth-Isigkeit, Thyen, Raspe, Stoven, & Schmucker, 2004;Tamminen et al, 1991). A considerable number of these complaints will be seen within the health service.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction between emotions and somatic complaints in children who did or did not seek medical care

Rieffe¹,

Terwogt²,

Bosch³

et al. 2007

Cognition & Emotion

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This study aimed to investigate how emotional functioning can be linked to health problems in children. Three groups were compared: (1) a clinical group, consisting of children with abdominal pain, attending an out-patient clinic; (2) a group from the general population who had high scores on a self-report somatic complaint list; and (3) a group from the general population who reported no or few somatic complaints. It was shown that groups 1 and 2 experienced negative moods and negative emotions with a higher frequency and/or intensity, and had a lower feeling of competence than group 3. They were also more likely to act upon physical complaints in emotionally stressful situations than group 3, although all groups made use of emotion-focused strategies. It is suggested that it is not an impaired capacity to identify emotions (an important feature of alexithymia), but an inability to differentiate between, and cope with, negative emotions that might be an important factor in children's health problems. Suggestions for future research are made.

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Psychosomatic Symptoms in Preadolescent Children

Cited by 27 publications

References 15 publications

Functional somatic symptoms and associated impairment in 5–7-year-old children: the Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000

Functional somatic symptoms and associated impairment in 5–7-year-old children: the Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000

Risk factors for development of non-specific musculoskeletal pain in preteens and early adolescents: a prospective 1-year follow-up study

Interaction between emotions and somatic complaints in children who did or did not seek medical care

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