Alexithymia and Somatosensory Amplification Link Perceived Psychosocial Stress and Somatic Symptoms in Outpatients with Psychosomatic Illness.

BACKGROUND: Psychosomatic patients often complain of a variety of somatic symptoms. We sought to clarify the role of clinical predictors of complaints of somatic symptoms.

METHODS: We enrolled 604 patients visiting a psychosomatic outpatient clinic. The outcome was the total number of somatic symptoms, and the candidate clinical predictors were perceived psychosocial stress, alexithymia, somatosensory amplification, adaptation, anxiety, and depression. All participants completed questionnaires assessing the outcome and the predictors.

RESULTS: The average number of reported somatic symptoms was 4.8; the most frequent was fatigue (75.3%), followed by insomnia (56.1%), low-back pain (49.5%), headache (44.7%), and palpitations (43.1%). Multiple regression analysis showed that the total number of somatic symptoms was significantly associated with the degree of perceived psychosocial stress, alexithymia, somatosensory amplification, and depression. Also, structural equation models indicated links between excessive adaptation (via perceived psychosocial stress, alexithymia, and somatosensory amplification) and the total number of somatic symptoms.

CONCLUSION: The results suggested that the association between psychosocial stress and reported somatic symptoms is mediated by alexithymia and somatosensory amplification in psychosomatic patients.