ArticlePloS one2015
Medically unexplained and explained physical symptoms in the general population: association with prevalent and incident mental disorders.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and clinical characteristics of Norwegians who report persistent health complaints attributed to tick bites or tick-borne diseases.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Medically not yet explained symptoms in hypothyroidism.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2024Review
- Symptom attribution and stress level in patients with medically unexplained symptoms in a Mexican emergency department.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2022Article
- Physical symptoms as psychiatric manifestations in medical spaces: A qualitative study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Article
- Neurocognitive functioning in patients with conversion disorder/functional neurological disorder.Journal of neuropsychology · 2021Article
- Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Cognitions About Body and Health Questionnaire.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2021Article
- Racial/ethnic differences in general physical symptoms and medically unexplained physical symptoms: Investigating the role of education.Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology · 2020Article
- Prevalence and Correlation of Anxiety, Insomnia and Somatic Symptoms in a Chinese Population During the COVID-19 Epidemic.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Article
- The Relationship Between Symptoms of Anxiety and Somatic Symptoms in Health Professionals During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2020Article
- The Four-Cluster Spectrum of Mind-Body Interrelationships: An Integrative Model.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Article
- Management of patients with persistent medically unexplained symptoms: a descriptive study.BMC family practice · 2018Observational
- Predictors of Persistent Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms: Findings From a General Population Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2018Article
- A European Research Agenda for Somatic Symptom Disorders, Bodily Distress Disorders, and Functional Disorders: Results of an Estimate-Talk-Estimate Delphi Expert Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2018Article
- Comparison of the Factor Structure of the Patient Health Questionnaire for Somatic Symptoms (PHQ-15) in Germany, the Netherlands, and China. A Transcultural Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2018Article
- Early response in cognitive-behavior therapy for syndromes of medically unexplained symptoms.BMC psychiatry · 2017Article
- Mental health care use in medically unexplained and explained physical symptoms: findings from a general population study.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2016Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundClinical studies have shown that Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS) are related to common mental disorders. It is unknown how often common mental disorders occur in subjects who have explained physical symptoms (PHY), MUS or both, in the general population, what the incidence rates are, and whether there is a difference between PHY and MUS in this respect.
aimTo study the prevalence and incidence rates of mood, anxiety and substance use disorders in groups with PHY, MUS and combined MUS and PHY compared to a no-symptoms reference group in the general population.
methodData were derived from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study-2 (NEMESIS-2), a nationally representative face-to-face survey of the general population aged 18-64 years. We selected subjects with explained physical symptoms only (n=1952), with MUS only (n=177), with both MUS and PHY (n=209), and a reference group with no physical symptoms (n=4168). The assessment of common mental disorders was through the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between group membership and the prevalence and first-incidence rates of comorbid mental disorders, adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics.
resultsMUS were associated with the highest prevalence rates of mood and anxiety disorders, and combined MUS and PHY with the highest prevalence rates of substance disorder. Combined MUS and PHY were associated with a higher incidence rate of mood disorder only (OR 2.9 (95%CI:1.27,6.74)).
conclusionIn the general population, PHY, MUS and the combination of both are related to mood and anxiety disorder, but odds are highest for combined MUS and PHY in relation to substance use disorder. Combined MUS and PHY are related to a greater incidence of mood disorder. These findings warrant further research into possibilities to improve recognition and early intervention in subjects with combined MUS and PHY.
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