Somatic Symptom Disorder: An important change in DSM (original) (raw)

Predictive validity and clinical utility of DSM-5 Somatic Symptom Disorder — Comparison with DSM-IV somatoform disorders and additional criteria for consideration

Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2012

Objective: Major changes to the diagnostic category of somatoform disorders are being proposed for DSM-5. The effect of e.g. the inclusion of psychological criteria (criterion B) on prevalence, predictive validity, and clinical utility of "Somatic Symptom Disorder" (SSD) remains unclear. A prospective study was conducted to compare current and new diagnostic approaches. Methods: In a sample of N = 456 psychosomatic inpatients (61% female, mean age = 44.8 ± 10.4 years) diagnosed with somatoform, depressive and anxiety disorders, we investigated the current DSM-5 proposal (SSD) plus potential psychological criteria, somatic symptom severity, and health-related quality of life at admission and discharge. Results: N = 259 patients were diagnosed with DSM-IV somatoform disorder (56.8%). With a threshold of 6 on the Whiteley Index to assess psychological criteria, the diagnosis of SSD was similarly frequent (51.8%, N = 230). However, SSD was a more frequent diagnosis when we employed the recommended threshold of one subcriterion of criterion B. Patients diagnosed with only SSD but not with DSM-IV somatoform disorder showed greater psychological impairment. Both diagnoses similarly predicted physical functioning at discharge. Bodily weakness and somatic and psychological attributions at admission were among significant predictors of physical functioning at discharge. Reduction of health anxiety, bodily weakness, and body scanning significantly predicted an improvement of physical functioning. Conclusions: Psychological symptoms enhance predictive validity and clinical utility of DSM-5 Somatic Symptom Disorder compared to DSM-IV somatoform disorders. The SSD diagnosis identifies more psychologically impaired patients than its DSM-IV precursor. The currently suggested diagnostic threshold for criterion B might increase the disorder's prevalence.

A Review of Somatoform Disorders in DSM-IV and Somatic Symptom Disorders in Proposed DSM-V

2012

Psychiatric care providers should be trained to use current changes in the somatoform disorders criteria. New diagnostic criteria for Somatic Symptom disorders in the proposed DSM-V is discussed and compared with its older counterpart in DSM-IV. A new category called Somatic Syndrome Disorders is suggested. It includes new subcategories such as "Complex Somatic Symptom Disorder" (CSSD) and "Simple Somatic Symptom Disorder" (SSSD). Some of the subcategories of DSM-IV derived disorders are included in CSSD. While there are some changes in diagnostic criteria, there are concerns and limitations about the new classification needed to be more discussed before implementation. Functional somatic disturbance, the counterpart of converion disorder in DSM-IV, can be highly dependet on the developmental level of children. However, the role of developmental level needs to be considered.

Operationalization of diagnostic criteria of DSM-5 somatic symptom disorders

BMC psychiatry, 2017

The aim of this study was to test the operationalization of DSM-5 somatic symptom disorder (SSD) psychological criteria among Chinese general hospital outpatients. This multicenter, cross-sectional study enrolled 491 patients from 10 general hospital outpatient departments. The structured clinical "interview about cognitive, affective, and behavioral features associated with somatic complaints" was used to operationalize the SSD criteria B. For comparison, DSM-IV somatoform disorders were assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview plus. Cohen's к scores were given to illustrate the agreement of the diagnoses. A three-structure model of the interview, within which items were classified as respectively assessing the cognitive (B1), affective (B2), and behavioral (B3) features, was examined. According to percentages of screening-positive persons and the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis, a cut-off point of 2 was recommended for each subs...

Somatic symptoms-an update according DSM-5

Romanian Journal of Neurology, 2018

Somatization represents the appearance of unexplained symptoms or other unintentionally produced complaints which are frequently related to nervous system, so that neurologists are often the fi rst step where patients come for diagnosis. After exclusion of organic pathology and lack of results of symptomatic treatments, patients are sometimes related to a psychiatrist, even though this should happen more often, but fear of attending a psychiatrist is one one of the greatest prejudices of the Romanian society today. We're reviewing the Classifi cation of Somatic Symptoms and Related Disorders according Diagnosis and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) of Mental Disorders; this is a new category in the classifi cation, as this kind of pathology is a frequent one, in direct relation with anxiety and mood disorders, and incidence of this kind of troubles is increasing constantly, with immense associated health care costs and a high burden of disease, as up to 33.7% of the population is affected by an anxiety disorder during their lifetime (1) and this percent is constantly rising.

Construct validity and descriptive validity of somatoform disorders in light of proposed changes for the DSM-5

Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2013

Objective: Current diagnostic criteria for somatoform disorders demand revisions due to their insufficient clinical as well as scientific usability. Various psychological and behavioral characteristics have been considered for the proposed new category Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD). With this study, we were able to jointly assess the validity of these variables in an inpatient sample. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, we investigated N= 456 patients suffering from somatoform disorder, anxiety, or depression. Within one week after admission to the hospital, informed consent was obtained and afterwards, a diagnostic interview and a battery of self-report questionnaires were administered. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine which variables significantly add to construct and descriptive validity. Results: Several features, such as somatic symptom severity, health worries, health habits, a self-concept of being weak, and symptom attribution, predicted physical health status in somatization. Overall, our model explained about 50% of the total variance. Furthermore, in comparison with anxious and depressed patients, health anxiety, body scanning, and a self-concept of bodily weakness were specific for DSM-IV somatoform disorders and the proposed SSD. Conclusions: The present study supports the inclusion of psychological and behavioral characteristics in the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for somatoform disorders. Based on our results, we make suggestions for a slight modification of criterion B to enhance construct validity of the Somatic Symptom Disorder.