Somatoform Disorders: A Worldwide Perspective

by Ono Yutaka (Editor), Aleksandar Janca (Editor), Masahiro Asai (Editor), Norman Sartorius (Editor)

Overview

Medically unexplained somatic symptoms are problematic in psychiatry, primary care settings, and other clinical areas. The burden they impose on health-care systems constitutes a significant public health problem. At the international symposium "Rethinking Somatoform Disorders," this problem was addressed by specialists working in somatoform disorders, psychiatric nosology, epidemiology, and biological and cross-cultural psychiatry. The meeting was the third of the Keio University International Symposia for Life Sciences and Medicine, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the World Psychiatric Association.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9784431702481
Publisher:	Springer Japan
Publication date:	06/04/1999
Series:	Keio University International Symposia for Life Sciences and Medicine , #3
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

1 Understanding the Concept of Somatoform Disorders.- The Concept of Somatoform Disorders: A Comment on the Mind-Body Problem in Psychiatry.- The Classification of Somatoform Disorders in ICD-10.- The Differential Diagnosis of Somatoform Disorders.- European Concepts.- Somatoform Disorders-An Arab Perspective.- Classification of Somatoform Disorders in Japan.- Somatization in the Elderly.- Somatic Symptoms in Children from Three Ethnic Groups.- Hypochondriasis.- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.- Biological Markers of Fibromyalgia.- 2 Studies on Somatoform Disorders in Different. Cultures.- WHO International Study of Somatoform Disorders: an Overview of Methods and Preliminary Results.- Help-Seeking Behavior Across Different Age and Culture Groups.- The Influence of Depression and Anxiety on the Course of Somatization in Primary Case.- Somatization in Different Cultures (I). Taijin Kyofusho as One Aspect of Somatoform Disorders in Japan.- Culture and Illness—Clinical Presentation and Management of Somatoform Disorders in Cambodia.- Post-Traumatic Somatic and Psychological Problems.- Somatoform Disorders in China.- Preliminary Research on the Clinical Features of Somatoform Disorders in Three General Hospitals.- Neurasthenia: Transpacific Comparisons.- Somatization in Papua New Guinea.- Somatization in Thailand.- Somatization in Field Studies.- 3 Management and Economic Aspects of Somatoform Disorders.- Psychotherapy of Somatoform Disorders.- The Psychological Treatment of Somatoform Disorders.- Schematic Understanding of the Worried Patient with Somatoform Disorder.- Problems in Pharmacologic Management of Somatoform Disorders.- Approach to the Treatment of Somatoform Disorders in General Practice.- Approaches to the Treatment of Somatoform Disorders in Liaison Psychiatry.-Approaches to the Treatment of Somatoform Disorders in Internal Medicine.- The Use of Japanese Herbal Medicine in the Treatment of Somatoform Disorders.- Therapeutic Effects of Acupuncture Combined with Psychotherapy for Patients with Somatoform Disorders.- The Economic Burden of Somatoform Disorders.- Economic Aspects of Somatoform Disorders in Japan.- 4 Summary and Outlook.- Rhetorics of the Body: Medically Unexplained Symptoms in Sociocultural Perspective.- Key Word Index.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Howard M. Kravitz, DO, MPH (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: These proceedings bring together papers presented at the international conference on "Rethinking Somatoform Disorders" in February, 1998 in Tokyo. The conference was organized in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the World Psychiatric Association. The meeting's purpose "was to provide an international platform for the exchange of knowledge, experience, and research results in the field of somatoform disorders."
Purpose: In the keynote address preceding the main text, co-editor Sartorius indicates that the purpose of this meeting is to "explore whether psychiatrists have a common understanding of the issues involved and whether there is a clear consensus among them about the role of psychiatry in the management of somatoform disorders." The overarching agenda is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to assess whether somatoform disorders (SDs) satisfy the criteria of public health importance. Before the reader reaches his/her conclusion, (s)he will have been updated on the essential concepts as well as important diagnostic and management issues facing researchers and healthcare professionals working with patients suffering from "unexplained physical symptoms." In a curious twist of history, the reader will witness the reemergence of "neurasthenia."
Audience: About 70 experts from a dozen countries working in the fields of SDs, psychiatric nosology, epidemiology, and biological and cross-cultural psychiatry comprise the authorship of this volume. They were invited to share their views on the current concepts of somatization, exchange their scientific results, and discuss future directions and strategies in clinical work and research on SDs. Although the book is written primarily for psychiatrists, primary care physicians (general practitioners, internists, perhaps even obstetricians-gynecologists), psychologists, anthropologists and perhaps healthcare economists may find something of interest.
Features: The editors have done a credible job organizing this anthology of presentations into four coherent sections: understanding the concept; studies in different cultures; management and economic aspects; and summary and outlook (one paper). Most papers are concise, fewer than ten pages; an exception is the well-written review of chronic fatigue syndrome. Notwithstanding some unavoidable overlap, a broad range of topics is covered. Data are presented mainly in parts 2 and 3, generally in a univariate descriptive format with some in tabular form, and 38 figures are interspersed among 286 pages of text. The index is organized according to key words, which some readers (including myself) may consider a drawback (one chapter does not list key words). This book was published in a timely fashion, less than one-and-a-half years after the meeting, and the references are as recent as 1998.
Assessment: This interesting (but overpriced) thin book may satisfy the needs of persons working in the field of or interested in SDs. However, caveat emptor: it is not a clinical guide. Rather, it deals with clinical concepts and issues but not in the sense of practical applicability.

Doody's Review Service

These proceedings bring together papers presented at the international conference on "Rethinking Somatoform Disorders" in February, 1998 in Tokyo. The conference was organized in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the World Psychiatric Association. The meeting's purpose "was to provide an international platform for the exchange of knowledge, experience, and research results in the field of somatoform disorders." In the keynote address preceding the main text, co-editor Sartorius indicates that the purpose of this meeting is to "explore whether psychiatrists have a common understanding of the issues involved and whether there is a clear consensus among them about the role of psychiatry in the management of somatoform disorders." The overarching agenda is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to assess whether somatoform disorders (SDs) satisfy the criteria of public health importance. Before the reader reaches his/her conclusion, (s)he will have been updated on the essential concepts as well as important diagnostic and management issues facing researchers and healthcare professionals working with patients suffering from "unexplained physical symptoms." In a curious twist of history, the reader will witness the reemergence of "neurasthenia." About 70 experts from a dozen countries working in the fields of SDs, psychiatric nosology, epidemiology, and biological and cross-cultural psychiatry comprise the authorship of this volume. They were invited to share their views on the current concepts of somatization, exchange their scientific results, and discuss future directions and strategies in clinical work and research on SDs. Although the book is writtenprimarily for psychiatrists, primary care physicians (general practitioners, internists, perhaps even obstetricians-gynecologists), psychologists, anthropologists and perhaps healthcare economists may find something of interest. The editors have done a credible job organizing this anthology of presentations into four coherent sections: understanding the concept; studies in different cultures; management and economic aspects; and summary and outlook (one paper). Most papers are concise, fewer than ten pages; an exception is the well-written review of chronic fatigue syndrome. Notwithstanding some unavoidable overlap, a broad range of topics is covered. Data are presented mainly in parts 2 and 3, generally in a univariate descriptive format with some in tabular form, and 38 figures are interspersed among 286 pages of text. The index is organized according to key words, which some readers (including myself) may consider a drawback (one chapter does not list key words). This book was published in a timely fashion, less than one-and-a-half years after the meeting, and the references are as recent as 1998. This interesting (but overpriced) thin book may satisfy the needs of persons working in the field of or interested in SDs. However, caveat emptor: it is not a clinical guide. Rather, it deals with clinical concepts and issues but not in the sense of practical applicability.

Howard M. Kravitz