A recent study has revealed that somatization is correlated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Furthermore, somatization consistently drives HRQoL in healthy controls (HC) to the exclusion of other psychosocial concerns.
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What is somatization?
Somatic symptom disorder which is formerly known as “somatization
disorder” is a form of mental illness that causes one or more bodily symptoms,
including pain. The symptoms may or may not be traceable to a physical cause
including general medical conditions, other mental illnesses, or substance
abuse. However, they cause excessive and disproportionate levels of distress.
Comparing the relative associations of abdominal pain
and psychosocial distress with HRQoL in HC and IBS, the experts collected
baseline abdominal pain, psychosocial distress, and HRQoL measures from HC and
IBS pediatric clinical trial participants.
A regression analysis was performed to identify which
measures most strongly associated with physical and psychosocial HRQoL
separately by group. Interaction analyses were also performed to assess group
differences in the correlations of abdominal pain and psychosocial distress with
HRQoL.
In general, there were 213 children with IBS and 85 HC
were analyzed. Somatization and functional ability revealed the strongest correlation
with physical HRQoL in HC and IBS, correspondingly. Somatization was also most
strongly correlated with psychosocial HRQoL for both cohorts. Moreover, depression
significantly associated with healthy controls (HC).
The between-group difference was noted in the strength
of correlation between somatization and physical HRQoL, with the negative
correlation being less pronounced for IBS than HC. Also, there was a significantly
between-group difference in the correlation between functional disability and
both physical and psychosocial HRQoL, with negative correlations being more
pronounced for IBS than HC.
Researchers said that associations of somatization and
functional disability with HRQoL are distinctly different between HC and IBS.
This knowledge supports utilization of psychosocial interventions to improve
overall well-being for children with IBS.
Source: J Clin Gastroenterol 2021;55:422-428