Somatization symptoms—prevalence and risk, stress and resilience factors among medical and dental students at a mid-sized German university

Feußner, Oskar; Rehnisch, Carolin; Rabkow, Nadja; Watzke, Stefan

doi:10.7717/peerj.13803

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Five studies assessed factors that have the potential to be helpful in predicting, preventing or treating mental health-related somatic symptoms in medical students; one of these performed an intervention. The four non-interventional factors were resilience [ 37 ], social support [ 38 ], coping strategies [ 58 ] and trait mindfulness [ 48 ]; the interventional study [ 43 ] also assessed mindfulness, and was based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program [ 75 , 76 ]. Resilience was measured with a binary ‘yes/no’ scale on dimensions of resiliency as conceptualized by the authors: use of relaxation techniques, satisfaction with academic studies, religiosity, eating habits, physical activity, musical instrument practice and emotional/social support [ 37 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The four non-interventional factors were resilience [ 37 ], social support [ 38 ], coping strategies [ 58 ] and trait mindfulness [ 48 ]; the interventional study [ 43 ] also assessed mindfulness, and was based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program [ 75 , 76 ]. Resilience was measured with a binary ‘yes/no’ scale on dimensions of resiliency as conceptualized by the authors: use of relaxation techniques, satisfaction with academic studies, religiosity, eating habits, physical activity, musical instrument practice and emotional/social support [ 37 ]. High scores on these dimensions of resiliency were found to be significantly correlated with the SOMS-2 somatization index, such that students with higher resiliency had significantly lower somatization ( r s = −0.207, p < .001) [ 37 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Resilience was measured with a binary ‘yes/no’ scale on dimensions of resiliency as conceptualized by the authors: use of relaxation techniques, satisfaction with academic studies, religiosity, eating habits, physical activity, musical instrument practice and emotional/social support [ 37 ]. High scores on these dimensions of resiliency were found to be significantly correlated with the SOMS-2 somatization index, such that students with higher resiliency had significantly lower somatization ( r s = −0.207, p < .001) [ 37 ]. In the next study, social support was evaluated with the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) that measures four types of social support: appraisal, belonging, tangible and self-esteem [ 38 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence, characteristics and measurement of somatic symptoms related to mental health in medical students: a scoping review

Hulett

Sherwin

et al. 2023

Annals of Medicine

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Introduction Somatic symptoms related to mental health in medical students are under-researched, with nothing on the topic being published in the United States in over three decades. This scoping review is the first of its kind to explore the prevalence, type and severity of somatic symptoms induced by stress, anxiety, depression and burnout amongst medical students, with the objective of describing the significance and breadth of this issue. Methods PRISMA-ScR guidelines were used to guide this review. A comprehensive search was performed of 22 databases, followed by bibliographic and hand searching. Inclusion criteria were published, peer-reviewed articles with a sample of medical students and at least one measure of somatic symptoms related to mental health, in English or with an English-language translation. Excluded were review, companion and editorial articles. Coding was done by an experienced coder trained in systematic review techniques. Two authors reviewed each article. Results Twenty-nine articles met inclusion criteria, representing 16 countries, 31 schools/teaching hospitals and 9,887 medical students. The prevalence of somatic symptoms ranged from 5.7 to 80.1%, and somatic symptoms were overwhelmingly found to be significantly correlated with mental ill-health. Somatic symptoms included back pain, neck pain, headaches, sleep disturbances and functional gastrointestinal disorders. Eleven different outcome measures were used, with varying degrees of validity and reliability, which were compared and assessed. Conclusions Somatic symptoms appear strongly correlated with mental ill-health in medical students, and are likely highly prevalent. This review highlights the need for further research on somatic symptoms of mental ill-health in medical students, particularly in the United States, and the addition of larger, multi-institutional cohorts to expand our understanding of prevalence, incidence and inciting factors of somatic symptoms. Longitudinal studies tracking somatic symptoms’ effect on career trajectory and professional burnout levels are also needed. Finally, future research should explore interventions for reducing physical symptom burden in medical students.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence, characteristics and measurement of somatic symptoms related to mental health in medical students: a scoping review

Hulett

Sherwin

et al. 2023

Annals of Medicine

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“…This study also found that third-year students experienced a higher degree of perceived stress than first-year students. Another study found that the rates of depression, anxiety, and stress disorders among medical students were equivalent to the public at the beginning of medical school but deteriorated during their depression (Feussner et al, 2022).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depression Among First Generation Medical Students and Non-First-Generation Medical Students in the West of Saudi Arabia

Mahfouz¹,

Abdulaziz²,

Alotaibi³

et al. 2022

World J Environ Biosci

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Depression is a major human blight. Globally, it is responsible for more disability than any other condition. Based on previous studies, medical students are at high risk for depression because of their stressful lifestyle. In the current study, we suspected a high prevalence of depression in FG medical students rather than their colleagues who are not FG. First-generation students are those whose parents did not attend college or obtained a college degree. Unfortunately, they struggle with difficulties in their academic life, such as financial wellness, psychological family stressors, and a lack of professional social networks. The mean well-being score was significantly higher among males (55.5 ± 21.6) compared to females (44.36 ± 23.14), p<0.001. The students from the Taif region showed significantly poor lower well-being scores (44.9 ± 21.95), whereas those from Makkah (54.53 ± 23.95) and Medina (54.08 ± 20.71) had higher scores (p<0.001). The well-being scores were significantly lower among those who visited a psychiatrist (42.79 ± 23.74) and those who were diagnosed with any psychiatric disorders (41.46 ± 22.22), p<0.001. Similarly, we observed that the students who had family members diagnosed with psychiatric disorders had significantly lower well-being scores (46.67 ± 23.88) compared to those who didn 't have (50.69 ± 22.73), p=0.026). In this study, there were no significant differences in well-being between FG and non-FG medical student mean while there were statistically significant differences between the other different characteristic students.

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“…Studies have found that 54.3% of patients diagnosed with somatoform disorders will have an additional diagnosis within twelve months, such as anxiety and depression. Patients with somatoform disorders have a 24% likelihood of suicidal ideation and a 17.6% likelihood of attempting suicide [7], [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pseudoceysis False Pregnancy in 25-Year-Old with Anxiety: A Case Report

Junio,

Amin

2023

Advances in Health Sciences Research

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BackgroundSomatoform disorder is a disorder characterized by the presence of multiple symptoms that cannot be explained or proven as physical symptoms. Patients with this disorder often undergo examinations and consultations with various healthcare centres about their complaints [1]. Doctors on duty in the emergency department often misdiagnose this disorder with other diagnoses. This can happen because of the need for more time to examine a patient in detail and thoroughly [2]. To establish a diagnosis of somatoform disorder, doctors require an elimination process to exclude symptoms and consider differential diagnoses for each symptom and sign, resulting in the somatoform diagnosis often being missed. The consequences of the imprecise diagnosis process of somatoform disorder on the first visit result in patients receiving a physical diagnosis that then encourages patients to focus on treating the organic disease [3]. Case report:This report discusses a 25-year-old married woman who has complaints of anxiety about her pregnancy. The patient insists that she is pregnant even though she has consulted several obstetricians. The complaints first appeared about three years ago since the beginning of her marriage. The complaints started when her family pressured the patient to have a child. The patient also complained of other symptoms, such as pain in several parts of her body, nausea, vomiting, intolerance to certain foods, and difficulty urinating despite having a strong urge to urinate. These complaints co-occurred with the patient's anxiety about her pregnancy. The patient has no history of psychiatric disorders use of illegal drugs, alcohol, or smoking. Conclusion:Somatoform disorders are characterized by one or more somatic symptoms or fear of a serious illness in the absence of physical symptoms, resulting in significant distress or functional impairment. This condition is marked by symptoms that are believed and unquestioned by the patient and have been ongoing for years. Patients with somatoform disorders may also experience symptoms from other organ systems. In this condition, there are psychological stressors that can trigger these symptoms. These symptoms are not influenced by illicit drugs, alcohol, and nicotine use.

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Somatization symptoms—prevalence and risk, stress and resilience factors among medical and dental students at a mid-sized German university

Cited by 9 publications

References 76 publications

Prevalence, characteristics and measurement of somatic symptoms related to mental health in medical students: a scoping review

Prevalence, characteristics and measurement of somatic symptoms related to mental health in medical students: a scoping review

Depression Among First Generation Medical Students and Non-First-Generation Medical Students in the West of Saudi Arabia

Pseudoceysis False Pregnancy in 25-Year-Old with Anxiety: A Case Report

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