As the DSM-V process unfolds, Somatoform Disorders are a diagnostic category for which major revisions seem warranted. The Conceptual Issues in Somatoform and Similar Disorders (CISSD) project recently convened three workshops, involving 24 experts. The CISSD identified key questions related to stakeholders; terminology; appropriate axis (I versus III); medically unexplained criteria; status of...

Objective: As noted in previous reviews, the prevalence rates for somatoform disorders in the elderly that have been reported are highly heterogeneous. The main aim of this paper is to identify the reasons for the substantial variation in prevalence rates and discuss the potential of future diagnostic criteria to address current difficulties. Methods: We conducted a selective review of the lite...

This article reviews the research evidence for the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for somatoform disorders. Randomized controlled studies support the efficacy of individual CBT for the treatment of hypochondriasis, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), and undifferentiated somatoform disorders including medically unexplained symptoms, chronic fatigue syndrome, and noncardiac chest pai...

OBJECTIVE This paper reviews the published literature on the pharmacologic management of somatoform disorders. METHODS Using Medline, the author identified all articles published between 1970 and 2003 on this topic, selecting the best-designed studies for inclusion. RESULTS The review reveals that patients with the obsessional cluster of somatoform disorders (hypochondriasis and body dysmor...

OBJECTIVES Investigators and clinicians almost always rely on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, 4th edition's (DSM-IV) somatoform disorders (and its derivative diagnoses) to characterize and identify patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Our objective was to evaluate this use by determining the prevalence of DSM-IV somatoform and nonsomatoform disorders in pati...

Until now, no German diagnostic instrument existed for somatoform disorders in children and adolescents. Therefore the Screening for Somatoform Disorders in Children and Adolescents (SOMS-CA) was developed based on the SOMS-2 (Screening for Somatoform Disorders 2) (Rief & Hiller, 2008). This study investigates to what extent the SOMS-CA can differentiate significantly between children and adole...

The present study investigated the validity of the German version of the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20), a scale designed to measure somatoform dissociative symptoms. Somatoform dissociation involves physical manifestations of a dissociation of the personality and is considered a unique entity in the phenomenological spectrum of dissociation. The validity and reliability of the ...

OBJECTIVE Somatoform disorders are characterized by patterns of persistent bodily complaints. Organic illness attributions are assumed to represent a central supporting factor in the development and maintenance of somatoform disorders. Using group control design, we aimed to investigate the processing of illness-belief-related word stimuli in somatoform pain disorder patients. METHODS Organic...

OBJECTIVE Although somatoform disorders are assumed to be chronic clinical conditions, epidemiological knowledge on their natural course based on representative samples is not available. METHOD Data come from a prospective epidemiologic study of adolescents and young adults in Munich, Germany. Respondents' diagnoses (N = 2548) at baseline and follow-up on average 42 months later are considere...