Abstract
BackgroundIt has been suggested that individuals from non-western countries tend to deny or mask psychological symptoms of common mental disorders and to present with somatic symptoms. The aim of the present paper was to investigate the association between common mental disorders and somatic symptoms in a representative sample of the general population of Santiago, ChileFindingsThis was a cross-sectional study of a stratified random sample of 3807 subjects living in private households in Santiago, Chile. Psychiatric disorders were assessed with the revised Clinical Interview Schedule. We found a strong association between the presence of somatic symptoms and psychiatric disorders (odds ratio 3.20, [95% confidence interval 2.52 - 4.05]). In addition, subjects who attributed their somatic symptoms to psychological or mixed psychological/physical causes were more likely to be cases compared to subjects who made physical attributions only (odds ratios 7.10 [95% CI 4.49-11.25] and 9.27 [6.00-14.34] respectively.ConclusionsThe study confirms previous observations from more selected samples that subjects of Hispanic origin are generally aware of the link between somatic symptoms and psychological ill-health and do not hide or "mask" their psychological symptoms.
Highlights
It has been suggested that individuals from non-western countries tend to deny or mask psychological symptoms of common mental disorders and to present with somatic symptoms
The study confirms previous observations from more selected samples that subjects of Hispanic origin are generally aware of the link between somatic symptoms and psychological ill-health and do not hide or “mask” their psychological symptoms
The association between somatic symptoms and psychiatric disorders has been reported in all cultures [6], there has been a long-standing assumption that it is stronger among individuals from the developing world, or in specific cultures especially of Hispanic origin [5]
Summary
It has been suggested that individuals from non-western countries tend to deny or mask psychological symptoms of common mental disorders and to present with somatic symptoms. It has been argued that somatic and psychiatric comorbidity is a key factor in one’s decision to consult a the association between somatic symptoms and psychiatric disorders has been reported in all cultures [6], there has been a long-standing assumption that it is stronger among individuals from the developing world, or in specific cultures especially of Hispanic origin [5]. This association has been reported in primary or tertiary care centres [7,14,20]. We examined causal attributions of somatic symptoms and we hypothesized that subjects making psychological attributions would be more likely to be cases of common mental disorders, i.e. that subjects would be aware of the connection between somatic symptoms and psychological distress
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