Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Feb;25(1):65-76.
doi: 10.3109/09540261.2012.748651.

Association of somatoform disorders with anxiety and depression in women in low and middle income countries: a systematic review

Rahul Shidhaye  1 , Emily Mendenhall, Kethakie Sumathipala, Athula Sumathipala, Vikram Patel
Affiliations

Association of somatoform disorders with anxiety and depression in women in low and middle income countries: a systematic review

Rahul Shidhaye et al. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2013 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Across cultures, women are more likely than men to report somatoform disorders (SD), depression and anxiety. The aim of this article is to describe the co-morbidity of SD with depression/anxiety and to investigate the possible mechanisms of this relationship in women in low and middle income countries (LMIC).

Methods: We reviewed two databases: MEDLINE and PsycINFO from 1994 to 2012 for studies which assessed the association between any SD and depression/ anxiety in women from LMIC. Our focus was on community and primary healthcare based studies. Both quantitative and qualitative studies were included.

Results: A total of 21 studies covering eight LMICs were included in our analysis. Our findings suggest a strong association between SD and depression/anxiety (with odds ratios ranging from 2.5-3.5), though we also observed that the majority of women with SD did not have depression/anxiety. The likely mechanisms for this association are multidimensional, and may include shared aetiologies, that both conditions are in fact variants of the same primary mental disorder, and that one disorder is a risk factor for the other. Anthropological research offers a number of frameworks through which we can view these mechanisms.

Conclusion: The current evidence indicates that service providers at the primary care level should be sensitized to consider SD in women as variants of CMD (Common Mental Disorders) and address both groups of disorders concurrently. Further research should explicitly seek to unpack the mechanisms of the relationship between SD and CMD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study selection process for systematic review of studies on association between SD and depression and anxiety in women in low- and middle-income countries
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ball HA, Sumathipala A, Siribaddana SH, Kovas Y, Glozier N, McGuffin P, Hotopf M. Aetiology of fatigue in Sri Lanka and its overlap with depression. British Journal of Psychiatry. 2010;197:106–113. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barsky AJ, Borus JF. Functional somatic syndromes. Ann Intern Med. 1999;130:910–921. - PubMed
    1. Bhatt A, Tomenson B, Benjamin S. Transcultural patterns of somatization in primary care: a preliminary report. Journal of psychosomatic research. 1989;33:671–680. - PubMed
    1. Creed F. The outcome of medically unexplained symptoms--will DSM-V improve on DSM-IV somatoform disorders? Journal of psychosomatic research. 2009;66:379–381. - PubMed
    1. Creed F, Barsky A. A systematic review of the epidemiology of somatisation disorder and hypochondriasis. Journal of psychosomatic research. 2004;56:391–408. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms