Prevalence, characteristics, and attribution of somatic symptoms in Spanish patients with major depressive disorder seeking primary health care.
BACKGROUND
Somatic symptoms (SS) tend to dominate clinical symptomatology in patients with depression in primary care.


OBJECTIVE
The authors performed a cross-sectional nationwide epidemiological study on 1,150 primary-care patients with major depression and evaluated the prevalence of SS and physicians' attribution of their origin.


METHODS
Patients were administered the Structured Polyvalent Psychiatric Interview.


RESULTS
Ninety-three percent of patients had at least one SS fully or partially attributed to depression, and 45% of patients had four to nine. Painful symptoms, despite being the most frequent, were the least often attributed to depression (fewer than 25% of patients with pain) and significantly more often attributed to a combined origin.


CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that primary-care physicians tend to associate pain with depression to a significantly lesser extent than any other somatic symptom (e.g., cardiopulmonary or gastrointestinal). Therefore, special attention should be given to painful symptoms in order to ensure efficient management of depression in primary care.
Caballero
Luis
L
Clinical Research Department, Lilly, SA, Avenida de la Industria 30, Alcobendas E-28108, Madrid, Spain.
Aragonès
Enric
E
García-Campayo
Javier
J
Rodríguez-Artalejo
Fernando
F
Ayuso-Mateos
Jose Luis
JL
Polavieja
Pepa
P
Gómez-Utrero
Eduardo
E
Romera
Irene
I
Gilaberte
Immaculada
I
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology