An Exploratory Study of Subgrouping of Patients With Functional Somatic Syndrome Based on the Psychophysiological Stress Response

Its Relationship With Moods and Subjective Variables

Bibliographic Data

ID19309233
AuthorsKenji Kanbara (0000-0003-2150-4788, Kansai Medical University, corresponding author), Mikihiko Fukunaga, Hiromi Mutsuura, Hiroharu Takeuchi, K Kitamura (0000-0001-9692-8724), Yoshihide Nakai
Year2007
Volume69
Issue2
Pages158-165
Publication date2007-02-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychosomatic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-3174 • E-ISSN: 1534-7796
PublisherOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/psy.0b013e3180312cac
PMID17289824
OpenAlexW2077276677
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited33

Objective: To study the characteristics and subjective estimations of subgroups of patients with functional somatic syndrome (FSS). A characteristic in patients with FSS was reportedly hyporeactivity in the psychophysiological stress response (PSR). Methods: The PSR was measured in 59 FSS patients and 41 healthy controls. Autonomic lability scores (ALSs) of six psychophysiological measurements on PSR were calculated. Cluster analysis using the ALSs was performed in the FSS group. A discriminant analysis was also performed to identify the criterion of the subgrouping. Factor analysis scores of the six ALSs, and moods and subjective variables were compared between the subgroups. Results: Cluster analysis divided the FSS patients into two clusters. Three groups (low-lability, high-lability, and control groups) were compared. All factor scores of autonomic lability significantly differed between the low- and high-lability groups, and between the low-lability and control groups. The mood scores were higher in the high-lability group than in the low-lability group. The duration of suffering was significantly longer in the high-lability group than in the low-lability group. The distributions of symptoms and diagnosis did not significantly differ between the subgroups. Conclusions: We have tentatively verified that there are two subgroups based on the autonomic lability among FSS patients, which were independent of the type of symptoms and diagnostic category. Autonomic lability is an important axis in the multiaxial diagnosis of FSS. FSS = functional somatic syndrome; IBS = irritable bowel syndrome; FMS = fibromyalgia syndrome; FGID = functional gastrointestinal disorder; ALS = autonomic lability score; PSR = psychophysiological stress response; ANS = autonomic nervous system; VAS = visual analogue scale; SEMG = surface-electromyography; TEMP = skin temperature; SCL = skin conductance level; NSSCR = nonspecific skin conductance response; BVPAmp = blood volume pulse amplitude; STS = subjective tension score

Biology · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Exploratory research · Fight-or-flight response · Somatic cell · Stress (linguistics) · Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies · Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies · Clinical Psychology · Genetics · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

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