ArticleMental health in family medicine2010
Explanatory models of medically unexplained symptoms: a qualitative analysis of the literature.
Article in Mental health in family medicine, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Clinical skills development for healthcare practitioners working with patients with persistent physical symptoms (PPS) in healthcare settings: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.BMC medical education · 2024Pooled it
- Behavioural modification interventions for medically unexplained symptoms in primary care: systematic reviews and economic evaluation.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Pooled it
- Group body psychotherapy for the treatment of somatoform disorder - a partly randomised-controlled feasibility pilot study.BMC psychiatry · 2019Trial
- Psychoeducation against depression, anxiety, alexithymia and fibromyalgia: a pilot study in primary care for patients on sick leave.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Improving general practitioners' approaches to functional somatic syndromes: a pilot training program with a focus on compassion and communication.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Integrating psychiatry and family medicine in the management of somatic symptom disorders: Diagnosis, collaboration, and communication strategies.Journal of general and family medicine · 2025Review
- Integrated care model for patients with functional somatic symptom disorder - a co-produced stakeholder exploration with recommendations for best practice.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Article
- A randomized controlled trial protocol for persistent physical symptoms associated with indoor environment or chronic fatigue: Effectiveness of video-based functional case conceptualization and web-program for improving quality of life.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Diagnostic and treatment barriers to persistent somatic symptoms in primary care - representative survey with physicians.BMC family practice · 2021Article
- Helpful explanatory models for somatoform symptoms (HERMES): study protocol of a randomised mixed-methods pilot trial.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Impact of symptom focusing and somatosensory amplification on persistent physical symptoms: A three-year follow-up study.Journal of psychosomatic research · 2020Article
- Electromagnetic hypersensitivity: a critical review of explanatory hypotheses.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2020Review
- Introducing the System for Observing Medical Alliances (SOMA): A Tool for Studying Concordance in Patient-Physician Relationships.The Counseling psychologist · 2019Article
- PSYCHLOPS in Polish primary care: how do clients conceptualise their problems on a patient-generated outcome measure?Heliyon · 2019Article
- A descriptive study of disability in patients presenting with medically unexplained physical symptoms in a medical OPD setting.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2019Article
- Symptom management for medically unexplained symptoms in primary care: a qualitative study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2019Article
- Somatic Symptoms as Mediating Factors between the Perceived Social Support and the Health-Related Quality of Life in North Korean Defectors.Psychiatry investigation · 2017Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are common in primary health care. Both patients and doctors are burdened with the symptoms that negatively affect patients' quality of life. General practitioners (GPs) often face difficulties when giving patients legitimate and convincing explanations for their symptoms. This explanation is important for reassuring patients and for maintaining a good doctor-patient communication and relationship.Objective To provide an overview of explanatory models for MUS.Study design We performed a systematic search of reviews in PsycINFO and PubMed about explanatory models of MUS. We performed a qualitative analysis of the data according to the principles of constant comparative analysis to identify specific explanatory models.Results We distinguished nine specific explanatory models of MUS in the literature: somatosensory amplification, sensitisation, sensitivity, immune system sensitisation, endocrine dysregulation, signal filter model, illness behaviour model, autonomous nervous system dysfunction and abnormal proprioception. The nine different explanatory models focus on different domains, including somatic causes, perception, illness behaviour and predisposition. We also found one meta-model, which incorporates these four domains: the cognitive behavioural therapy model.Conclusion Although GPs often face difficulties when providing explanations to patients with MUS, there are multiple explanatory models in the scientific literature that may be of use in daily medical practice.
Identifiers
22477946PMC3083258What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.