A new approach to the assessment of the treatment effects of somatoform disorders.

A new 53-item instrument for the evaluation of treatment effects in somatoform disorders, the Screening for Somatoform Symptoms-7 (SOMS-7), is presented. It covers all somatic symptoms mentioned as occurring in somatization disorder, according to DSM-IV and ICD-10. A group of 325 patients was assessed at the beginning and end of treatment to compute scores of reliability and validity. The new scale showed high internal consistency (alpha=0.92) and revealed two composite indices: somatization symptom count and somatization severity index. These indices discriminated patients fulfilling complete criteria for somatoform disorders, patients with somatization syndrome, and patients with other mental and psychosomatic disorders. The instrument confirmed symptom reductions between admission and discharge, while in another group composed of wait-listed patients, no significant decrease in symptoms was observed. In sum, the SOMS-7 seems to be a comprehensive, reliable, and valid instrument for the evaluation of treatment effects in patients with somatoform disorders.

[1]  W. Hiller,et al.  Assessment of somatoform disorders: a review of strategies and instruments , 2003, Acta Neuropsychiatrica.

[2]  S. Schagen,et al.  Predicting medically unexplained physical symptoms and health care utilization. A symptom-perception approach. , 2002, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[3]  W. Rief,et al.  Immunological differences between patients with major depression and somatization syndrome , 2001, Psychiatry Research.

[4]  W. Rief,et al.  Somatization Symptoms and Hypochondriacal Features in the General Population , 2001, Psychosomatic medicine.

[5]  P. Lehrer,et al.  Cognitive behavior therapy for somatization disorder: a preliminary investigation. , 2001, Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry.

[6]  H. Möller,et al.  Opipramol for the treatment of somatoform disorders results from a placebo-controlled trial , 2000, European Neuropsychopharmacology.

[7]  W. Rief,et al.  Elevated Levels of Psychophysiological Arousal and Cortisol in Patients With Somatization Syndrome , 1998, Psychosomatic medicine.

[8]  W. Rief,et al.  Somatoform symptoms in depressive and panic syndromes , 1995, International journal of behavioral medicine.

[9]  J. Wattis,et al.  Somatization and hypochondriasis , 1994 .

[10]  P. Fink.  The use of hospitalizations by persistent somatizing patients , 1992, Psychological Medicine.

[11]  D. Mumford.  The Bradford Somatic Inventory. , 1991, Nursing times.

[12]  K. Kroenke,et al.  Common symptoms in ambulatory care: incidence, evaluation, therapy, and outcome. , 1989, The American journal of medicine.

[13]  G. Canino,et al.  Somatic Symptom Index (SSI): A New and Abridged Somatization Construct: Prevalence and Epidemiological Correlates in Two Large Community Samples , 1989, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[14]  R. Kellner.  A symptom questionnaire. , 1987, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[15]  I. Pilowsky,et al.  Dimensions of Hypochondriasis , 1967, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[16]  P. Britton,et al.  CHAPTER 10 – The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory , 1966 .

[17]  A. Beck,et al.  An inventory for measuring depression. , 1961, Archives of general psychiatry.