Two hundred and one inpatients with diagnosis of depressive neurosis, involutional melancholia and psychotic depression (including depression of manic-depressive psychosis) who had been found free from physical illness were studied for their somptoms ...
Two hundred and one inpatients with diagnosis of depressive neurosis, involutional melancholia and psychotic depression (including depression of manic-depressive psychosis) who had been found free from physical illness were studied for their somptoms in relation to diagnosis, sex, age, precipitating factor, premorbid personality and coexisting psychological feature.
Average number of somatic symptoms recorded in charts was 4.8 (SD 1.56) per patient. Females and patients with depressive neurosis and involutional melancholia complained more somatic symptoms.
Insomnia was most common and was significantly associated with loss-separation. Headache was more common in men and was significantly associated with obsessive personality, hostility, anxiety and depressive ideas. But somatic pain was more common in women and neurotic depression, and was significantly associated with hostility. Paresthesia was more common in involutional melancholia but otherwise was similar to somatic pain. Fatigability was more common in men and neurotic depression and was significantly associated with schizoid personality and fear for disease-death. Dizziness was more common in women and was associated with anxiety. Indigestion-anorexia was the second most common and complained more by women and depressive neurotics and was significantly associated with obsessive and schizoid personality, stress-frustration and with various emotional disturbances. Dyspnea and palpitation were similar to gastrointestinal complaints but were associated significantly with hostility.
These result suggest that the choice of somatic symptoms in depression is influenced by some psychodynamic factors, and that more complaints of visceral systems, especially of gastrointestinal system may be characteristic for korean patients.