Epidemiological Features and Clinical Manifestations of Patients With Somatoform Disorder at a Tertiary Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abdulkarim O Alanazi; Raed A Aljohani; Mohammad F Aljohani; Abdulmohsen A Alhussaini; Faisal K Alnemer; Salman S Qasim; Ghada S Alduraye; Laila Layqah; Fares F Alharbi

doi:10.7759/cureus.19799

Epidemiological Features and Clinical Manifestations of Patients With Somatoform Disorder at a Tertiary Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Cureus. 2021 Nov 22;13(11):e19799. doi: 10.7759/cureus.19799. eCollection 2021 Nov.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, SAU.
² Department of Mental Health, Ministry of the National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, SAU.
³ Department of Research Office, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, SAU.

Abstract

Background Somatoform disorder (SD), known as the presence of physical symptoms suggesting a physical condition, for which there are no demonstrable organic findings or established physiological mechanisms with positive evidence that the symptoms are related to psychological causes. The aim of this study was to highlight the epidemiological characteristics, demographic features, comorbidities, and clinical presentations of patients with SD. Materials and methods This was a retrospective study of SD patients at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We reviewed the patients' electronic health records from January 2015 to December 2020 for collecting the patients' demographic information, including gender, age, marital status, and occupation. The types of SD, presenting symptoms of each disorder, department to which patients initially presented, comorbidities, and management were also documented. The diagnosis of SD was based on the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Results In total, 89 patients were included in the study. The majority (n=50, 56.2%) were female, with a mean age of 42.7±17.1 years. More than half of the sample was married (n=54, 60.7%). The most common subtype of SD was somatization disorder followed by conversion disorder, pain disorder, and hypochondriasis, diagnosed in 69 (77.5%), 12 (13.5%), 5 (5.6%), and three (3.4%) patients, respectively. Neurological symptoms and pain were the most frequent presenting symptoms for all the somatoform patients. More than half of the sample (n=48, 53.9%) initially presented at an outpatient clinic. Conclusions The number of SD patients was less than expected, and a third did not receive any treatment. This emphasizes the need for more SD awareness among clinicians in various medical specialties. Appropriate SD and other mental disorders education for physicians may support achieving a better identification of SD and subsequently an improved quality of life for the patients.

Keywords: conversion disorder; hypochondriasis; pain disorder; saudi arabia; somatization disorder; somatoform disorder.