Relevant Factors Associated with Bodily Complaints

Bodily complaints are very common in the general population. For many of the most frequent bodily complaints no medical explanation can be found. Consequently they are called somatoform. Somatoform complaints constitute the core symptoms of somatoform disorders. These are among the most frequent mental disorders in Germany and Europe and are associated with high disability and abnormal illness behavior. The author, Dr. Ricarda Mewes, gives an overview about three areas that are of major importance for investigations about bodily complaints and somatoform disorders. She also reports and discusses data from current studies. The three areas are the following: 1. Culture sensitivity, i.e. the influence of the cultural background on the perception, presentation, and frequency of bodily complaints, 2. Health care utilization and the influence of psychological and other factors on health care utilization, and 3. Disability by complaints as one of the most important criteria in diagnosing mental disorders.