Abstract
BackgroundFurther research on effective interventions for patients with peristent Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms (MUPS) in general practice is needed. Prevalence estimates of such patients are conflicting, and other descriptive knowledge is needed for development and evaluation of effective future interventions. In this study, we aimed to estimate the consultation prevalence of patients with persistent MUPS in general practice, including patients’ characteristics and symptom pattern, employment status and use of social benefits, and the general practitioners’ (GPs) management strategy.MethodDuring a four-week period the participating Norwegian GPs (n = 84) registered all consultations with patients who met a strict definition of MUPS (>3 months duration and function loss), using a questionnaire with simple tick-off questions. Analyses were performed with descriptive statistics for all variables and split analysis on gender and age.ResultsThe GPs registered 526 patients among their total of 17 688 consultations, giving a consultation prevalence of persistent MUPS of 3%. The mean age of patients was 46 years, and 399 (76%) were women. The most frequent group of symptoms was musculoskeletal problems, followed by asthenia/fatigue. There was no significant gender difference in symptom pattern. Almost half of the patients were currently working (45%), significantly more men. The major GP management strategy was supportive counseling.ConclusionA consultation prevalence rate of 3% implies that patients with persistent MUPS are common in general practice. Our study disclosed heterogeneity among the patients such as differences in employment status, which emphasizes the importance of personalized focus rather than unsubstantiated stereotyping of “MUPS patients” as a group.
Highlights
Further research on effective interventions for patients with peristent Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms (MUPS) in general practice is needed
A consultation prevalence rate of 3% implies that patients with persistent MUPS are common in general practice
Our study disclosed heterogeneity among the patients such as differences in employment status, which emphasizes the importance of personalized focus rather than unsubstantiated stereotyping of “MUPS patients” as a group
Summary
Further research on effective interventions for patients with peristent Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms (MUPS) in general practice is needed. Prevalence estimates of such patients are conflicting, and other descriptive knowledge is needed for development and evaluation of effective future interventions. The research literature on MUPS prevalence in general practice is conflicting, with prevalence rates ranging from 1.1 to 33% [1,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17] This is probably due to different or imprecise definitions of the condition, or different data sources for measurement. Consultation prevalence, or the proportion of consultations with a certain condition, is an adequate measure for health care utilization related to different health problems in general practice, for instance when estimating direct costs of MUPS [9]
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