Attributions of physical symptoms in patients of an old age psychiatry service.
BACKGROUND
Somatization is a phenomenon found across all medical specialities and in all types of care. There has been little in the way of systematic investigation of the phenomenon in older people.


OBJECTIVE
The objective was to establish whether treatment for psychiatric illness would be accompanied by a fall in somatic attributions.


METHODS
Patients' attributions of physical symptoms were studied in a consecutive group of older people with functional disorders (mostly depression) referred to an old age psychiatry service. Depression, anxiety, physical illness and attributional style were measured soon after referral and seven months later.


RESULTS
41 subjects were interviewed in the first leg. Anxiety was the chief association of abnormal attributional style. At follow up (n = 29) mean depression and anxiety scale scores and somatic attributions of symptoms had fallen significantly.


CONCLUSIONS
Abnormal focus on physical symptoms in depressed elderly patients may resolve with treatment.
Sheehan
Bart
B
Oxford University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Headington, Oxford, UK. bart.sheehan@psych.ox.ac.uk
Philpot
Michael
M
Banerjee
Sube
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012803:Sick Role; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*