PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATION OF SOMATIC SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER: MAJOR CONCERN FOR CONSULTATION IN THE OUTPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC PRACTICE
Dr. Prashant Kumar Sharma*
ABSTRACT
Somatic symptoms account for over half of all primary care visits and
are often medically unexplained as well as chronic or recurrent.
Unexplained, persistent, or multiple somatic symptoms are frequently a
marker for an underlying depressive disorder. Depression is often
unrecognized and hence not treated due to occurrence of somatic
symptoms. Proper identification of depression relevant somatic
symptoms is important for accurate diagnosis of depression and
development of treatment strategies. The presence of somatic
symptoms may worsen patient‟s prognosis. When somatic and
psychological symptoms coexist, treatment of both is necessary to
optimize clinical outcomes. The objective of this study was to
characterize the relationship between somatic symptoms and
depression in patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD).
Keywords: Somatic symptoms, major depressive disorder (MDD).
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