Somatoform Disorders

People with body dysmorphic disorder 'feel ugly'

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Washington, Feb 2 (ANI): People who check themselves in the mirror every now and then and are obsessed over even tiny flaws on their face or body might be suffering from body dysmorphic disorder.

For them looking into the mirror can be a horrifying experience as the psychiatric condition causes them to believe, wrongly, that they appear disfigured and ugly.

During the study, researchers at University of California Los Angeles have determined that the brains of people with BDD have abnormalities in processing visual input, particularly when examining their own face.

They also found that the same systems of the brain are overactive in both BDD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, suggesting a link between the two.

"People with BDD are ashamed, anxious and depressed," said Dr. Jamie Feusner, an assistant professor of psychiatry and lead author of the study.

"They obsess over tiny flaws on their face or body that other people would never even...

Even a little exercise can boost body image

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Washington, Oct 9 (ANI): Doing just a little exercise-not actually getting fit- can make you feel better about yourself, concludes a new study.

According to the University of Florida study, people who don't achieve workout milestones such as losing fat, gaining strength or boosting cardiovascular fitness feel just as good about their bodies as their more athletic counterparts.

The study by Heather Hausenblas, a UF exercise psychologist, is published in the September issue of the Journal of Health Psychology.

"You would think that if you become more fit that you would experience greater improvements in terms of body image, but that's not what we found," she said.

"It may be that the requirements to receive the psychological benefits of exercise, including those relating to body image, differ substantially from the physical benefits," she added.

The study by Hausenblas and graduate student Anna Campbell is the first to systematically analyze the wide-ranging effects of exercise...

Body posture affects how we think about ourselves

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Washington, Oct 6 (ANI): Body posture not only affects what others think about you, but it also gives you more confidence in your own thoughts, says a new study.

In the study, published in the October 2009 issue of the European Journal of Social Psychology, researchers found that people who were told to sit up straight were more likely to believe thoughts they wrote down while in that posture concerning whether they were qualified for a job.

On the other hand, those who were slumped over their desks were less likely to accept these written-down feelings about their own qualifications.

Richard Petty, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at Ohio State University, said: "Most of us were taught that sitting up straight gives a good impression to other people. But it turns out that our posture can also affect how we think about ourselves. If you sit up straight, you...

Delusional disorder, somatic type treated with aripiprazole-mirtazapine combination

Administrator — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:34:41 +0000

By Dimopoulos N.P., Mitsonis C.I., Psarra V.V.

Delusional disorder, somatic type (DDST) is a rare psychiatric disorder and the treatment is mostly based on observations, due to the lack of well-organized studies. Initially, antipsychotics and especially pimozide were considered to be the pharmacological approach of choice but, subsequently, tryciclic anti-depressants and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were also suggested to be effective, implicating the serotonergic system in the pathophysiology of the disorder. We present the case of a female with DDST, who responded to aripiprazole-mirtazapine combination, a finding that is in accordance with the initial approach of this disorder as a part of the schizophrenic spectrum, but also supports the hypothesis of serotonin dysfunction in DDST.

(copyright) 2008 British Association for Psychopharmacology.

ABSTRACT

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The Relation Between Anger Management Style, Mood and Somatic Symptoms

Administrator — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:33:52 +0000

Anxiety Disorders and Somatoform Disorders

By Koh K.B.; Kim D.K.; Kim S.Y.; Park J.K.; Han M.

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between anger management style, depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms in anxiety disorder and somatoform disorder patients. The subjects comprised 71 patients with anxiety disorders and 47 with somatoform disorders. The level of anger expression or anger suppression was assessed by the Anger Expression Scale, the severity of anxiety and depression by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) anxiety and depression subscales, and the severity of somatic symptoms by the Somatization Rating Scale and the SCL-90-R somatization subscale. The results of path analyses showed that anger suppression had only an indirect effect on somatic symptoms through depression and anxiety in each of the disorders. In addition, only anxiety had a direct effect on...

Pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy ease body dysmorphic disorder

Administrator — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:32:52 +0000

Last Updated: 2009-02-19 17:37:18 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, alone or in combination, are effective treatments for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), according to findings in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library.

Dr. Jonathan C. Ipser, of the University of Stellenbosch in Tygerberg, South Africa, and colleagues drew this conclusion after reviewing two pharmacotherapy studies (96 subjects) and three psychotherapy studies (83 subjects).

In one pharmacotherapy study, patients who received fluoxetine had three times the effective clinical response as those who received placebo (relative risk 3.07). In the other drug trial, a crossover comparison of clomipramine versus desipramine study, symptom severity was significantly reduced with clomipramine.

In two psychotherapy studies that compared cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to a "waiting list" comparison group, CBT significantly reduced symptom severity scores. In the third psychotherapy study, 6...

Delusional disorder, somatic type treated with aripiprazole-mirtazapine combination

Administrator

Delusional disorder, somatic type (DDST) is a rare psychiatric disorder and the treatment is mostly based on observations, due to the lack of well-organized studies. Initially, antipsychotics and especially pimozide were considered to be the pharmacological approach of choice but, subsequently, tryciclic anti-depressants and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were also suggested to be effective, implicating the serotonergic system in the pathophysiology of the disorder. We present the case of a female with DDST, who responded to aripiprazole-mirtazapine combination, a finding that is in accordance with the initial approach of this disorder as a part of the schizophrenic spectrum, but also supports the hypothesis of serotonin dysfunction in DDST.

(copyright) 2008 British Association for Psychopharmacology.

The Relation Between Anger Management Style and Organ System-Related Somatic Symptoms

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Purpose: The objective of this study was to examine the relation between anger management style and organ system-related somatic symptoms in depressive disorder and somatoform disorder patients.

Materials and Methods: The subjects included 73 patients with depressive disorders and 47 with somatoform disorders. Anger management styles were assessed by the Anger Expression Scale, while the severity of organ system-related somatic symptoms was evaluated using the Somatic Stress Response Scale (SSRS). The severity of depression and hostility was assessed by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) depression and hostility subscales.

Results: The results of multiple regression analyses showed that, in depressive disorder patients, the level of anger expression was significantly associated with the severity of somatic symptoms related to neuromuscular, cardiorespiratory and gastrointestinal systems. However, in these patients, the level of anger suppression was not significantly associated with the severity of somatic symptoms related to...

Clinical Profile of Pediatric Somatoform Disorders

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Objectives: To study the prevalence, pattern, clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of somatoform disorders in children.

Methods: From Aug 2004 to July 2005, children up to 18 years with unexplained physical symptoms were evaluated prospectively using DSM-IV criteria. Detailed evaluation followed for those meeting criteria.

Results: The prevalence of Somatoform disorders was 0.59% and 0.78% among out-door and in-door patients respectively. Among 124 children (40 boys and 84 girls) meeting criteria, conversion disorder was the commonest (57.3%), followed by undifferentiated somatoform disorder (25.2%). Girls were significantly more represented among conversion disorder patients compared to other groups of somatoform disorders (78.9 vs. 52.8 %, P=0.002). In conversion disorder, 2/3rd patients presented within 3 months, whereas in other somatoform disorders, 2/3rd patients presented within 3 months after symptoms. Fainting attacks (52.1%) and ataxia (43.7%) in conversion disorder and pain abdomen (52.8%) and headache (52.8%) in...

The Relation Between Anger Management Style, Mood and Somatic Symptoms

Administrator

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between anger management style, depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms in anxiety disorder and somatoform disorder patients. The subjects comprised 71 patients with anxiety disorders and 47 with somatoform disorders. The level of anger expression or anger suppression was assessed by the Anger Expression Scale, the severity of anxiety and depression by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) anxiety and depression subscales, and the severity of somatic symptoms by the Somatization Rating Scale and the SCL-90-R somatization subscale. The results of path analyses showed that anger suppression had only an indirect effect on somatic symptoms through depression and anxiety in each of the disorders. In addition, only anxiety had a direct effect on somatic symptoms in anxiety disorder patients, whereas both anxiety and depression had direct effects on somatic symptoms in somatoform disorder patients. However, the anxiety disorder group showed a significant negative...

Venlafaxine versus mirtazapine in the treatment of undifferentiated somatoform disorder

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Objective: We set out to compare the efficacy and tolerability of mirtazapine versus venlafaxine in patients with undifferentiated somatoform disorder (USD) using the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15).

Methods: This was a 12-week prospective, open-label, randomized, parallel-group trial. The trial consisted of six visits that included baseline and weeks 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12. The primary effectiveness measure was the mean change in PHQ-15 total score from baseline to the end of treatment. Secondary effectiveness measures included the mean changes in total scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) from baseline to the end of treatment. Ninety-five subjects were randomized to either mirtazapine (n = 50) or venlafaxine (n = 45); 71 subjects completed the study (mirtazapine: n = 39/50 [78%]; venlafaxine: n = 32/45 [71%]).

Results: The mean total score on the PHQ-15 decreased...

Somatisation Disorder in Nephrologic Patients

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INTRODUCTION: Nephrologic patients have somatisation disorder that can be primary disorder when fear is dominant or secondary disorder in the frame of other organic and mental disorders.

AIM: To evaluate, somatisaton disorder is more offten accompanied with microalbuminuria (MA) in patients with suspected endemic nephropathy than in patients with some other nephrologic disorder, in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) during period from January the 1st of 2000 to December the 31st of 2006.

METHOD: Somatisation disorders were proved in patients with microalbuminuria (MA) in nephropathic group (n = 200), and they were compared to the patients with MA in other nephrologic disorders (n = 200). The study took place from January, the 1st of 2000 to December, the 31st of 2006, and it was a multicentric, longitudinal, comparative study in B&H. Patients were questioned using: B&H Renal register questionnaire adapted for this study...

Paroxetine for patients with undifferentiated somatoform disorder:

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Background: Forty-eight percent of somatic symptoms encountered in the primary care setting are medically unexplained. Such symptoms have been associated with negative impact on quality of life and with functional impairment.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the potential utility and tolerability of paroxetine for the treatment of undifferentiated somatoform disorder (USD), using the 15-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15) to assess the severity of somatic symptoms.

Methods: A prospective, open-label, 8-week pilot study of paroxetine was conducted in outpatients with USD. Data were collected at baseline and at weeks 1, 2, 4, and 8. The primary measure was the mean change in PHQ-15 total score from baseline to the end of treatment. Secondary effectiveness measures included mean changes in total scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire from baseline to end of treatment....

The Relationship Between Functional Outcomes and the Treatment of Anxious and Painful Somatic ...

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Objective: To examine the relationship between global functional impairment and the treatment of anxious symptoms and painful somatic symptoms (PSS) in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Research design and methods: Data from two double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in adult outpatients meeting DSM-IV criteria for GAD were pooled. In the first trial (9-week, fixed-dose treatment period), patients were randomized to duloxetine 60 mg QD (n = 168), duloxetine 120 mg QD (n = 170), or placebo (n = 175). In the second trial (10-week, flexible-dose treatment period), patients were randomized to 60-120 mg OD of duloxetine (n = 168) or placebo (n = 159). Path analysis was used to assess the relative contributions of changes in psychic and somatic anxiety and PSS on improved functional outcomes. Clinical trial registration information: Study 1: NCT00122824; Study 2: study completed before registration required.

Main outcome measures: Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS),...