TY - JOUR
KW - Adult
KW - Female
KW - Follow-Up Studies
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Primary Health Care
KW - Somatoform Disorders/etiology/therapy
KW - Treatment Outcome
KW - Urban Population
AU - A. A. Khan
AU - A. Khan
AU - J. Harezlak
AU - W. Tu
AU - K. Kroenke
A1 - 
AB - Although somatic complaints are the predominant reason for seeking general medical care, their etiology and prognosis remain poorly understood. In a random sample of the records of all patients visiting an urban primary care clinic during four 1-month periods, 289 patients had one or more somatic symptoms, a total of 433 symptoms. Using explicit criteria, physician raters classified nearly half (48%) of the symptoms as either psychiatric or idiopathic in etiology. Reviewing follow-up notes for 12 months after the index visit, raters found that at least one-fourth of the symptoms persisted. Independent predictors of symptom persistence were prior visits for the same symptom, symptom type (i.e., headache or back pain), male gender, and greater medical comorbidity (i.e., seven or more medical diagnoses). Developing better management strategies for prevalent, medically unexplained, persistent somatic symptoms is a health care priority.
BT - Psychosomatics
C5 - Medically Unexplained Symptoms
CP - 6
CY - United States
IS - 6
JF - Psychosomatics
N2 - Although somatic complaints are the predominant reason for seeking general medical care, their etiology and prognosis remain poorly understood. In a random sample of the records of all patients visiting an urban primary care clinic during four 1-month periods, 289 patients had one or more somatic symptoms, a total of 433 symptoms. Using explicit criteria, physician raters classified nearly half (48%) of the symptoms as either psychiatric or idiopathic in etiology. Reviewing follow-up notes for 12 months after the index visit, raters found that at least one-fourth of the symptoms persisted. Independent predictors of symptom persistence were prior visits for the same symptom, symptom type (i.e., headache or back pain), male gender, and greater medical comorbidity (i.e., seven or more medical diagnoses). Developing better management strategies for prevalent, medically unexplained, persistent somatic symptoms is a health care priority.
PP - United States
PY - 2003
SN - 0033-3182; 0033-3182
SP - 471
EP - 478
EP - 
T1 - Somatic symptoms in primary care: etiology and outcome
T2 - Psychosomatics
TI - Somatic symptoms in primary care: etiology and outcome
U1 - Medically Unexplained Symptoms
U2 - 14597681
VL - 44
VO - 0033-3182; 0033-3182
Y1 - 2003
ER -