Page 61 - JCBP-1-2

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Somatization symptoms of outpatient

Table 2. The comparison of general demographic data in patients with different degrees of somatization symptoms
Mild symptom Moderate Severe symptom χ /F P
2
(n=254) symptom (n=399) (n=99)
PHQ-15 score 6.79±2.01 12.33±1.39 17.86±3.16 13.675 0.002
Average age (years) 53.5±10.2 51.2±9.8 50.7±9.9 1.241 0.442
Female (%) 55.9% 61.4% 74.7% 5.492 0.030
Education level (%)
Primary school and below 34.4% 37.8% 39.7% 0.875 0.708
Middle school 46.8% 45.0% 42.6%
College degree and above 18.8% 17.1% 17.6%
Marital status
Married 86.4% 88.4% 82.4% 0.811 0.634
Unmarried 9.74% 7.97% 11.76%
Divorced or widowed 3.90 3.59% 5.88%
Employment status
Employed 35.1% 26.8% 32.4% 1.399 0.264
Unemployed or student 46.8% 52.2% 50.0%
Retired 18.2% 20.7% 17.6%
Duration of illness (years) 1.3±0.9 2.2±1.2 2.5±1.3 1.106 0.295
Comorbidities
CVD 49.4% 54.6% 51.5% 2.873 0.181
Other somatic diseases 31.2% 25.1% 22.1%
No somatic diseases 19.5% 20.3% 26.4%
Average number of outpatient visits and hospitalizations 4.6±1.8 6.5±2.9 10.3±3.8 9.964 0.023
Abbreviations: CVD: Cardiovascular disease; PHQ-15: Patient health questionnaire-15.

difference was observed in the proportion of women and significant differences, were tested in the step-wise logistic
the average number of outpatient visits and hospitalizations regression analysis in search for predictive factors of
due to the main somatic symptoms within the past year. somatization symptoms. Table 4 shows the predictive
factors of somatization symptoms, that is, female, PHQ-9,
3.4. Comparison of anxiety and depression and GAD-7 scores. The probability of somatization
scores among patients with different degrees increased by 6.526 and 8.020 times, respectively, for
of somatization symptoms and analysis of the each 1-point increase in GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores.
correlation between PHQ-15 score and anxiety or The likelihood of females suffering from somatization
depression
symptoms increased by 4.440 times.
According to Table 3, the anxiety and depression scores
increase with the severity degree of somatization symptoms. 4. Discussion
There were significant differences in anxiety and depression The somatization symptoms of patients who seek
scores among the three groups with different levels of somatic treatments in general hospitals have become an increasingly
symptoms. A correlation analysis revealed that patients recognized clinical and public health problem [19,20] .
with somatization symptoms had a significant correlation Somatization symptoms refer to the experience and
[21]
coefficient of 0.4787 between PHQ-15 and GAD-7 scores presentation of somatic discomfort, which cannot be
(P < 0.001) and a significant correlation coefficient of 0.5141
between PHQ-15 and PHQ-9 scores (P < 0.001). explained by medical knowledge or experience. Clinically
speaking, somatic symptom disorder is distinctly different
3.5. Analysis of predictive factors for somatization from somatization symptoms in terms of their disease-
symptoms specific clinical characteristics.
Variables such as the scores of PHQ-9 and GAD-7 and Somatization symptoms are prevalent in patients
demographic factors such as females, which showed seeking treatments in general hospitals [11,19] . These patients

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 4 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcbp.0636