Somatised mental disorder among primary care Arab patients : possible determinants

Abstract EN

This is the second report of this study.

The aims of this part were to investigate the possible determinants for somatising or psychologising mental disorder among a sample of primary health care (PHC) Arab patients.

The first stage of the methodology was conducted by general practitioners (Gps), using the Arabic version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).

The second stage was carried out by a psychiatrist using the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) followed by detailed inquiry schedule .

Specific operational criteria were used to identify somatised mental disorder (SMD) and psychologiscd mental disorder (PMD) among the identified psychiatric cases.

The variables tested as possible determinants included childhood physical illness; childhood adverse experiences; adulthood physical illness; family history of physical illness; family history of psychiatric disorder; dissatisfaction with either marital, family life, work or social life and finally stressful life events within 12 months before the onset of the presenting symptoms.

Only the last variable proved to be significantly more among SMD than PMD patients.