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BACKGROUND: Somatoform disorders are costly for society in terms of increased healthcare expenditure. Patients' illness perceptions have been found to play a role in somatoform disorders. However, it is unclear whether illness perceptions predict higher health costs in these patients.
METHOD: A total of 1785 primary care patients presenting a new health complaint completed a questionnaire on their illness perceptions and emotional distress before the consultation. The physicians completed a questionnaire for each patient on diagnostics after the consultation. In a stratified subsample, physician interviewers established diagnoses of DSM-IV somatization and undifferentiated somatoform disorders (n = 144) using the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry. Healthcare expenditure was obtained from Danish health registers for a 2-year follow-up period.
RESULTS: Patients had more negative perceptions of their well-defined physical health problems when they had a co-morbid somatoform disorder. A strong illness identity [β = 0.120, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.029-0.212, p = 0.012], perceived negative consequences (β = 0.010, 95% CI 0.001-0.019, p = 0.024), a long timeline perspective (β = 0.013, 95% CI 0.005-0.021, p = 0.001), low personal control (β = - 0.009, 95% CI -0.015 to -0.002, p = 0.011) and negative emotional representations (β = 0.009, 95% CI 0.002-0.017, p = 0.020) predicted healthcare expenditure in somatoform disorders.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that illness perceptions play a role in the perpetuation of symptoms in somatoform disorders and predict higher future healthcare expenditure among a subgroup of these patients.
Original language | English |
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Book series | Psychological Medicine. Monograph Supplement |
Volume | 44 |
Issue | 13 |
Pages (from-to) | 2903-11 |
Number of pages | 9 |
ISSN | 0264-1801 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 2014 |
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