Investigation of Mental Health in Patients with Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms
Abstract
Objective: Medically unexplained symptoms are physical symptoms, which cannot be explained by organic causes. This study aimed to investigate mental health in patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms.
Method: One hundred outpatients who were admitted to the Electro Diagnosis Clinic of Imam Khomeini hospital, Ahvaz/Iran, participated in this study. Data were collected using physical examination, paraclinical examinations, and SCL-90-R, and analyzed through multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test.
Results: The findings revealed significant differences between clients with medically explained and unexplained symptoms in obsessive compulsive and somatization (p<0.05). Differences in depression, anxiety, phobia, psychosis, aggression and paranoia were not significant (p>0.05).
Conclusion: The present study suggested an association between some psychological problems and somatic symptoms. Therefore, screening for psychological impairments can improve clinical outcomes.
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Issue | Vol 11 No 1 (2016) | |
Section | Original Article(s) | |
Keywords | ||
Medically Unexplained Symptom Mental health Electro Diagnosis |
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