Somatization: a transcultural study

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the comparative rates of somatic complaints between Asian and Caucasian patients in a primary care setting and to characterize the factors associated with increased rates of somatization. One hundred and ninety-five individuals aged between 16 and 65 yr were interviewed with the Bradford Somatic Inventory (BSI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) respectively. The main finding was that the Asian patients reported significantly more somatic and depressive symptoms than the Caucasian patients. Ethnicity was the most important variable determining this result.