Summary
Clinicians working with older persons are familiar with the pattern of somatic symptoms of psychological origin. But it is unknown if older persons are indeed more prone to somatization after allowing for the higher level of physical morbidity in that age group. It is also unknown if there is an interaction effect between age and culture, whereby the elderly might differ in either direction from younger adults between cultures. In epidemiological surveys using community samples, in contrast to studies based on patients in primary care or clinics, it is very rare for adequate data to be obtained, with sufficient numbers across the whole age range to make stable estimates. But even if there were good epidemiological data, showing that older persons tend to have more, or to have less somatization than younger adults, what use would such information be? What is important for public health purposes is to improve the capability of primary care staff, and of other clinicians, to recognize and manage the somatic presentation of psychological distress or depression in all age groups.
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Henderson, S. (1999). Somatization in the Elderly. In: Ono, Y., Janca, A., Asai, M., Sartorius, N. (eds) Somatoform Disorders. Keio University Symposia for Life Science and Medicine, vol 3. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-68500-5_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-68500-5_7
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