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Concept
Somatization disorder
Summary
Somatization disorder was a mental and behavioral disorder characterized by recurring, multiple, and current, clinically significant complaints about somatic symptoms. It was recognized in the DSM-IV-TR classification system, but in the latest version DSM-5, it was combined with undifferentiated somatoform disorder to become somatic symptom disorder, a diagnosis which no longer requires a specific number of somatic symptoms. ICD-10, the latest version of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, still includes somatization syndrome.
In the DSM-5 the disorder has been renamed somatic symptom disorder (SSD), and includes SSD with predominantly somatic complaints (previously referred to as somatization disorder), and SSD with pain features (previously known as pain disorder).
The DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria are:
A history of somatic complaints over several years, starting prior to the age of 30.
Such symptoms cannot be fully explained by a general medical condition or substance use or, when there is an associated medical condition, the impairments due to the somatic symptoms are more severe than generally expected.
Complaints are not feigned as in malingering or factitious disorder.
The symptoms do not all have to occur at the same time, but may occur over the course of the disorder. A somatization disorder itself is chronic but fluctuating that rarely remits completely. A thorough physical examination of the specified areas of complaint is critical for somatization disorder diagnosis. Medical examination would provide objective evidence of subjective complaints of the individual.
Diagnosis of somatization disorder is difficult because it is hard to determine to what degree psychological factors are exacerbating subjective feelings of pain. For instance, chronic pain is common in 30% of the U.S. population, making it difficult to determine whether or not the pain is due to predominantly psychological factors.
Official source
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