ReviewThe Lancet regional health. Europe2025
The overlooked burden of persistent physical symptoms: a call for action in European healthcare.
Review in The Lancet regional health. Europe, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
What it found
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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.
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
23 citing papers in PubMed.
- Therapeutic alliance in guided internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy: a thematic analysis of patients with non-cardiac chest pain.BMC psychology · 2026Trial
- Effect of internet-delivered exposure therapy versus healthy lifestyle promotion for patients with persistent physical symptoms (SOMEX1): a randomized controlled trial with planned moderator analysis.Psychological medicine · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Explaining symptoms in general practice: a predictive processing framework for primary care consultations.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Occlusal Dysesthesia: Identifying Knowledge Gaps to Advance Clinical Care.Journal of oral rehabilitation · 2026Article
- The Role of Psychological Flexibility in Health-Related Quality of Life Among Patients With Persistent Physical Symptoms Associated With Indoor Environment and Chronic Fatigue - 9-Month Follow-Up of a Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2026Article
- Quality and reliability of anxiety disorder-related short videos on TikTok and Bilibili: A cross-sectional study.Medicine · 2026Article
- Exploring post-Covid-19 condition in children and young people 3.5 years after infection: a mixed-methods analysis from the CLoCk study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Work Ability and Functioning Among Individuals with Persistent Indoor Environment-Related Symptoms or Chronic Fatigue: Nine-Month Follow-Up of a Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- How Were Functional Somatic Symptoms in Children Influenced by the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Retrospective Study of Children Admitted to a Tertiary Pediatric Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, Romania.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Psychological and somatic distress profiles in young adults in and out of conflict settings: a cluster-based analysis of three population-based studies in Ukraine and Switzerland.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Patients' perspectives on healthcare factors and symptom course in persistent somatic symptoms: findings from a cross-sectional survey in four European countries.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Prevalence of physical comorbidities and multimorbidity in Borderline Personality Disorder: risk factors and comparisons with schizophrenia and healthy controls.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Protocol for a multicenter observational study on fatigue across physical-mental conditions within the German center for mental health.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Symptom experience subtypes and their association with social isolation in older adults with diabetes and coronary heart disease: a latent profile analysis study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- The FHJ debate: The NHS is failing to provide services for patients with symptom-based disorders.Future healthcare journal · 2025Article
- Somatic symptom severity and psychological distress among immigrants: findings from a population-based study.Annals of medicine · 2025Article
- Prevalence and clinical characteristics of Norwegians who report persistent health complaints attributed to tick bites or tick-borne diseases.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Comparative Analysis of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Chronic Pruritus: Patients with Chronic Liver or Kidney Diseases Exhibit Higher Psychological Distress than Those with Atopic Dermatitis.Dermatology and therapy · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Regardless of their cause, persistent physical symptoms are distressing somatic complaints that occur on most days for at least several months. They are common in patients with somatic diseases, functional somatic disorders, mental disorders, and undiagnosed medical conditions and are often associated with significant impairment and medical costs. Despite their prevalence and impact, persistent physical symptoms are often overlooked in medical care. This Personal View stresses the importance of recognising persistent physical symptoms as a European health issue. It advocates improvements in research, clinical management, public health, and policy. Efforts should prioritise integrating models of symptom perception and biopsychosocial perspectives into medical care and education, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and developing standardised guidelines to enhance patient care, reduce stigma, and improve clinical outcomes. Increased research funding can accelerate progress in understanding and effectively managing persistent physical symptoms. Addressing these priorities will support patients and healthcare professionals, ensuring adequate care and a higher quality of life for affected individuals.
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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.