Attitudes of British Psychiatrists to the Diagnosis of Somatisation Disorder

Abstract

A postal questionnaire was sent to 195 senior British psychiatrists who were asked about their attitudes towards the DSM-III-R diagnosis of somatisation disorder (SD) and the ICD-10 diagnosis of multiple somatisation disorder. Of the 148 respondents, 98 (66%) had experience of liaison psychiatry, and these psychiatrists used the diagnosis significantly more often than those without liaison sessions. More than half the respondents perceived SD as both a personality disorder and a mental state disorder, although 27% thought that patients with SD had an undiagnosed physical disease. The marked discrepancy between British and North American psychiatrists in diagnostic practices was perceived to be a consequence of both the difference in health care systems and the interest shown in the disorder by North American psychiatrists, rather than a reflection of genuine differences in prevalence.