ArticleJournal of psychosomatic research2020
Impact of symptom focusing and somatosensory amplification on persistent physical symptoms: A three-year follow-up study.
Article in Journal of psychosomatic research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Measurement Properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 and Somatic Symptom Scale-8: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- Psychosomatic Burden and Childhood Trauma in Chronic Pruritus without Primary Dermatosis or Systemic Disease: A Case-control Study.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2026Article
- Somatosensory amplification and fear of cancer recurrence: Moderating effects of emotion regulation difficulties.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Observational
- Validation and Factor Structure Analysis of the Polish Version of the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS-PL) in Clinical and Non-Clinical Samples.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Psychological factors and obesity, not thyroid biomarkers, predict thyroid-dependent quality of life in treated hypothyroidism: a cross-sectional study.BMC endocrine disorders · 2025Article
- Bruxism and other jaw loading behaviours are associated with somatic symptoms and psychological distress in orofacial pain-free adults: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in oral health · 2025Article
- Psychological factors associated with Long COVID: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Article
- Recent developments on psychological factors in medically unexplained symptoms and somatoform disorders.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe somatosensory amplification theory considers symptom focusing and somatosensory amplification as important perpetuating factors of persistent physical symptoms. We investigated whether symptom focusing and somatosensory amplification were associated with symptom severity and mental and physical functioning over a three-year period in patients with persistent physical symptoms (PPS).
methodsBaseline, 6-, 12-, 24- and 36-months follow-up data from the PROSPECTS study, a prospective cohort consisting of 325 patients with PPS, were used. We applied longitudinal mixed model analyses to investigate if symptom focusing (CBRQ Symptom Focusing Subscale) and somatosensory amplification (Somatosensory Amplification Scale) at baseline were associated with symptom severity (PHQ-15), mental and physical functioning (RAND-36 MCS and PCS) over three years, using all measurements.
resultsSymptom focusing was associated with increased symptom severity and lower mental and physical functioning over time. Somatosensory amplification at baseline was associated with increased symptom severity and lower mental and physical functioning over time. Effect sizes were small. Associations with baseline symptom focusing decreased over time, associations with baseline somatosensory amplification were more stable. There was no interaction effect of both constructs, but they partly overlapped.
conclusionThis is the first study to show that over an extended period, symptom focusing and somatosensory amplification are associated with symptom severity and lower mental and physical functioning in patients with PPS. These results support the impact of both symptom focusing and somatosensory amplification on the perpetuation of symptoms and lowered mental and physical functioning in individuals with PPS.
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