Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41171157›Full record

ArticleAnnals of medicine2025

Somatic symptom severity and psychological distress among immigrants: findings from a population-based study.

Eva M Klein, Johannes Kruse, Bernd Löwe, Elmar Brähler, Claas Lahmann, Michael Witthöft, Lina Krakau

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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

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.

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.

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Eva M KleinDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-0039-7805
Johannes KruseDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
Bernd LöweDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Centre for Internal Medicine, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4220-3378
Elmar BrählerDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2648-2728
Claas LahmannDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-0947-116X
Michael WitthöftDepartment of Clinical Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4928-4222
Lina KrakauDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7727-9773

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSomatic symptoms are frequently reported among immigrants, yet their occurrence and association with psychological distress remain understudied in population-based research using validated and measurement-invariant instruments. This study assessed the measurement invariance of the Somatic Symptom Scale-8 (SSS-8) and compared somatic symptom severity (SSS) between first- and second-generation immigrants and non-immigrants in a German population sample. MATERIALS AND

methodsSomatic symptom severity and psychological distress were assessed using the SSS-8 and PHQ-4, respectively. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test the measurement invariance of the SSS-8. Group differences were examined with ANOVA, and hierarchical regression analyses were performed to explore associations between immigration status and SSS, adjusting for distress and sociodemographic variables.

resultsThe sample included

conclusionsIn this study, the SSS-8 demonstrated measurement invariance across immigrant and non-immigrant populations, supporting its applicability for research in diverse sociocultural contexts. The findings suggest a higher vulnerability to SSS and distress among second-generation immigrants, emphasizing the need for targeted screening to improve early identification and healthcare access. However, clinical studies are needed to replicate these findings.

Indexed as

Emigrants and ImmigrantsMedically Unexplained SymptomsPsychological DistressStress, PsychologicalAdultAgedFactor Analysis, StatisticalFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedSeverity of Illness IndexSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung Adultimmigrantsmeasurement invariancepopulation-based studypsychological distressSomatic symptom severitySSS-8

Identifiers

PMID41171157
PMCPMC12581757

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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.