title: Attributions of physical symptoms in patients of an old age psychiatry service.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Headington, Oxford, UK. bart.sheehan@psych.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sheehan
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Philpot
authors.forename: Sube
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Banerjee
mesh_terms: 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*