Mental health interventions may help patients with somatic conditions

Patients with functional somatic symptoms may benefit from mental health interventions. In a systematic review, Raine and colleagues (p 1082) found that cognitive behaviour therapy and behaviour therapy may help patients with back pain and chronic fatigue syndrome and that antidepressants are beneficial in irritable bowel syndrome. Interventions for back pain and irritable bowel syndrome seemed more effective in secondary care than primary care. Treatments that are effective in secondary care therefore cannot be assumed to be effective in primary care. Most of the studies identified had methodological weaknesses.

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Relevant Article

Systematic review of mental health interventions for patients with common somatic symptoms: can research evidence from secondary care be extrapolated to primary care?

Rosalind Raine, Andy Haines, Tom Sensky, Andrew Hutchings, Kirsten Larkin, and Nick Black
BMJ 2002 325: 1082. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]