ABC of psychological medicine: Functional somatic symptoms and syndromes

doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7358.265

BMJ 2002;325:265-268 ( 3 August )

Clinical review

ABC of psychological medicine

Functional somatic symptoms and syndromes

Richard Mayou, Andrew Farmer.

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Concern about symptoms is a major reason for patients to seek medical help. Many of the somatic symptoms that they presentwith $---$ such as pain, weakness, and fatigue $---$ remain unexplained byidentifiable disease even after extensive medical assessment.Several general terms have been used to describe this problem $---$ somatisation,somatoform, abnormal illness behaviour, medically unexplainedsymptoms, and functional symptoms. We will use the term functionalsymptoms, which does not assume psychogenesis but only a disturbancein bodily functioning.
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Classification of functional syndromes

Most functional symptoms are transient, but a sizeable minority become persistent. Persistent symptoms are often multipleand disabling and may be described as functional syndromes. Althoughdifferent medical and psychiatric classifications of functionalsyndromes exist, these are simply alternative ways of describingthe same conditions.

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Medical syndromes (such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and irritable bowel syndromes) highlight patternsof somatic symptoms, often in relation to particular bodily systems.Although . . . [Full text of this article]

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What is ME doing here?: Suzy Chapman
bmj.com, 3 Aug 2002 [Full text]
Medical spin or parallel universe?: A Chaudhuri
bmj.com, 4 Aug 2002 [Full text]
Abnormal illness behaviour or functional symptoms?: Gurli Bagnall
bmj.com, 5 Aug 2002 [Full text]
"Functional" diagnoses: Ian R Thompson
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Re: Medical spin or parallel universe?: Ellen Goudsmit
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Assumtions Based on Coincidence - ABC ?: Paul J Lynch
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Functional somatic symptoms and syndromes: Douglas J Holdstock
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