Life events, co-morbidity of psychiatric disorders and physical illnesses : review of the literature

Abstract EN

Objective : The view that co-morbidity of life events, psychiatric disorders and physical illnesses enjoys considerable support by a number of older and recent publications.

This article reviews recent studies on possible etiology-cal and contributing factors, new approaches and research difficulties, which are of particular interest for planning more effective preventive and treatment strategies.

Method : studies were identified by means of computerized and manual searches. Results : high rates of Co-morbidity suggest that life events, psychiatric disorders, and physical illnesses are functionally related to one another. Conclusion : inclusion of patients with Co-morbid life events, psychiatric and physical disorders in neurobiological research and in clinical trials will be critical for development of effective treatment for this severely sympto-matic patient’s population.