Somatization Disorder in a Community Population

Program were used to examine somatization disorder in a community population. The authors found an adjusted prevalence of 0.38 % for somatization disorder diagnosed according to the Diagnostic Interview Schedule and DSM-III. Respondents with somatization disorder demonstrated demographic characteristics (female, unmarried, nonwhite, from a rural area, less educated) that are consistent with findings from past clinical and epidemiologic studies of somatization disorder. The adjusted prevalence is higher than that of other Epidemiologic Catchment Area sites, and possible explanations for this finding are discussed. (AmJ Psychiatry 143:1403-1408, 1986) Somatization disorder, the presentation of multiple somatic complaints in multiple organ systems, is felt to be an uncommon disorder. The diagnostic forebears of somatization disorder-hysteria and Bri-quet’s syndrome-were first clearly defined by investi-gators from the Washington School of Medicine, St. Louis, who have worked to define a number of rela-tively distinct psychiatric disorders with characteristic phenomenologies, natural histories, prognoses, treat-ment responses, and family histories. Somatization disorder, as defined by DSM-III, a prototype of this nosologic approach, is a direct descendant of the earlier concept of the disorder, which has been refined over the past three decades. The essential feature of somatization disorder is the presentation of recurrent and multiple somatic com-plaints of several years ’ duration for which medical attention has been sought but which do not derive from a specific physical disorder. According to DSM-III, somatization disorder begins before age 30 and has a chronic but fluctuating course. A survey of an urban community (1) found an estimated prevalence of 0.4