Prognostic assessment of “psychiatrist-avoidant behavior” in patients with somatization disorders who applied to primary health care institutions

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

The purpose of this study is to develop a predictive model of the relationship between the duration of “psychiatrist-avoidant behavior” and clinical and psychological parameters in patients with somatization disorders. The objectives were to designate the clinical characteristics of somatization disorders, study the level of alexithymia, personal anxiety and self-stigmatization in patients with somatization disorders with different durations of the period before contacting a psychiatrist, and develop a predictive equation that allows, based on the relationship of the studied parameters, to predict the duration of “psychiatrist-avoidant behavior.” Materials and methods. In 2019-2022, on the basis of the Kursk Clinical Psychiatric Hospital named after. Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon» (day psychiatric hospital of the dispensary department), 274 patients with somatization disorders (F 45.0) who applied for psychiatric help for the first time were examined. The main research group included 176 patients with somatization disorders who had not consulted a psychiatrist for a long time (from 2 to 6 years). The control group consisted of 108 patients with somatization disorders who came for an appointment in a relatively short period (within 1 year). Methods: clinicalpsychopathological, clinical-dynamic, psychological (D. Taylor’s personal anxiety questionnaire, alexithymia scale, I.O. Mikhailova’s method for studying self-stigma), statistical method (Fisher’s angular transformation test, Mann-Whitney U test, Pearson’s χ2 test, multiple linear regression, Forward Stepwise method). As a result of the discovered relationships, taking into account the level of personal anxiety, alexithymia and selfstigmatization, as well as the clinical variety and type of somatization disorder, a prognostic equation was developed to determine the duration of non-core visits to psychiatric help. Conclusion. The introduction of this forecasting method in primary health care institutions will contribute to early diagnosis and timely routing of patients with somatization disorders.