title: Illness attribution of patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms in China.
abstract: The illness behavior of patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUS) depends largely on what the patient believes to be the cause of the symptoms. Little data are available on the illness attributions of patients with MUS in China. This cross-sectional study investigated the illness attributions of 96 patients with MUS in the outpatient departments of Psychosomatic Medicine, biomedicine (Neurology, Gynecology), and Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shanghai. Patients completed the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) for illness attribution, the Screening Questionnaire for Somatoform Symptoms, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for emotional distress, and questionnaires on clinical and sociodemographic data. The physicians also filled out a questionnaire regarding the cause of the illness (IPQ). In contrast to previous research, both physicians and patients from all three areas of medicine most frequently reported "psychological attributions." The concordance between the physicians' and the patients' illness attributions was low. Emotional distress was an important predictor of psychological attributions. Further research should include large-scale studies among patients from different regions of China and qualitative studies to deepen our understanding of cultural influences on illness attribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany. kurt.fritzsche@uniklinik-freiburg.de
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fritzsche
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Anselm
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fritz
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wirsching
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xudong
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schaefert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D055809:Illness Behavior; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D011611:Psychosomatic Medicine; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult