title: Dhat (semen loss) syndrome: a functional somatic syndrome of the Indian subcontinent?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the illness characteristics of Dhat syndrome, which has been widely regarded as a culture-bound syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample was selected from a general hospital and included 29 patients with Dhat syndrome and 32 medical controls. Somatization Screening Index (SSI), Illness Behaviour Questionnaire (SIBQ), Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SAS), Whitley Index (WI) and Chalder Fatigue Scale were administered to both groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with Dhat syndrome scored significantly higher on all the measures except the SAS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that patients with Dhat syndrome have significantly different illness beliefs and behaviours compared to controls and have similarities with other functional somatic syndromes (FSSs).
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry 605006, India.
authors.forename: Bojir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Perme
authors.forename: Gopinath
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ranjith
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mohan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chandrasekaran
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D003469:Culture; D005162:Factitious Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D012661:Semen; D014556:Urine