title: Somatoform disorders in patients with musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases in comparison to the general population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present epidemiological study investigates sex- and age-adjusted 4-week, 12-month, and lifetime prevalence rates of somatoform disorders in in-patients with musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases in comparison with prevalence rates of these disorders in the general population in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prevalence rates were calculated from two samples, one from rehabilitation in-patients with musculoskeletal (n = 187) or cardiovascular (n = 116) diseases, and one from a large sample of the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey - Mental Health Supplement (GHS-MHS; n = 3889). The prevalence rates were based on the M-CIDI, an interview for the assessment of mental disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The adjusted prevalence rates of any mental disorder in both clinical samples are higher compared with rates of the general population (e.g. lifetime musculoskeletal, 59.3%; cardiovascular, 56.2%; general population, 47.9%). Prevalence rates of patients with cardiovascular (e.g. 12.2%) and musculoskeletal (21.5%) diseases do not indicate an increased prevalence of somatoform disorders compared with the general population (18.2%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results confirm that patients with chronic somatic diseases have increased prevalence rates of mental disorders. However, these increased prevalence rates go primarily back to affective and anxiety disorders and not to somatoform disorders. The diagnostic criteria for somatoform disorders and the question algorithm of the M-CIDI are probably responsible for potential underestimation of somatoform disorders in patients with chronic somatic diseases.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Freiburg University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baumeister
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Freiburg University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Härter