Evidence map›Paper›PMID 16163400›Full record

ArticlePrimary care companion to the Journal of clinical psychiatry2005

The importance of somatic symptoms in depression in primary care.

André Tylee, Paul Gandhi

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Primary care companion to the Journal of clinical psychiatry, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 120 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
120citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

120 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Predictors of Somatic Symptom Severity in Adult Psychiatric Outpatients: A Cross-sectional Heart Rate Variability and Quantitative Electroencephalography Study.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Observational
  15. Article
  16. Observational
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Heart rate variability during inpatient treatment of depression.Journal of mood and anxiety disorders · 2024
    Article
  20. Article

60 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

André TyleeInstitute of Psychiatry, Health Services Research Department, Denmark Hill, London, UK. a.tylee@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Paul Gandhi

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivePatients with depression present with psychological and somatic symptoms, including general aches and pains. In primary care, somatic symptoms often dominate. A review of the literature was conducted to ascertain the importance of somatic symptoms in depression in primary care. DATA SOURCES AND EXTRACTION: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsychLIT/PsychINFO databases (1985-January 2004) were searched for the terms depression, depressive, depressed AND physical, somatic, unexplained symptoms, complaints, problems; somatised, somatized symptoms; somatisation, somatization, somatoform, psychosomatic; pain; recognition, under-recognition; diagnosis, underdiagnosis; acknowledgment, under-acknowledgment; treatment, undertreatment AND primary care, ambulatory care; primary physician; office; general practice; attribution, re-attribution; and normalising, normalizing. Only English-language publications and abstracts were considered. STUDY SELECTION: More than 80 papers related to somatic symptoms in depression were identified using the content of their titles and abstracts. DATA SYNTHESIS: Approximately two thirds of patients with depression in primary care present with somatic symptoms. These patients are difficult to diagnose, feel an increased burden of disease, rely heavily on health care services, and are harder to treat. Patient and physician factors that prevent discussion of psychological symptoms during consultations must be overcome.

conclusionsEducational initiatives that raise awareness of somatic symptoms in depression and help patients to re-attribute these symptoms should help to improve the recognition of depression in primary care.

Identifiers

PMID16163400
PMCPMC1192435

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.