Somatization among Chinese Depressives in General Practice

Abstract

Depressive illness was a common clinical syndrome found in general practice in Hong Kong. The phenomenon of somatization among Chinese depressives in general practice was investigated. Patients clinically identified as depressed were compared with organic patients in terms of their presenting complaints and responses to a symptom checklist. Sleep disturbances, general malaise, pains and aches, dizziness, and menopausal symptoms were the most frequent disturbances that prompted Chinese depressives to seek help in general practice. When directly asked, these patients admitted having various psychological features including dysphoric mood, self-reproach, loss of interest in social activities and in sex. Subgroup comparisons showed little sex difference in initial complaints and admitted symptomatology among the depressives. Some age differences were observed in the presenting complaints. The discrepancy between the pattern of presenting complaints and admitted symptoms suggested that patients were aware of their emotional disturbance even though they tended to express these disturbances in somatic terms in their help-seeking processes. Distinction between the expression mode and the recognition mode of somatization was discussed.