Published online April 1, 2005
PEDIATRICS Vol. 115 No. 4 April 2005, pp. e434-e442 (doi:10.1542/peds.2004-1261)

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Santalahti, P. Articles by Piha, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Santalahti, P. Articles by Piha, J. Related Collections Office Practice Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

ELECTRONIC ARTICLE

Have There Been Changes in Children's Psychosomatic Symptoms? A 10-Year Comparison From Finland

Paivi Santalahti, MD^*, Minna Aromaa, MD, Andre Sourander, MD^*, Hans Helenius, MSc, Jorma Piha, MD^*

^* Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
Public Health
Biostatistics, Turku University, Turku, Finland

Objectives. The aims of the study were to determine whether the prevalence of children's somatic symptoms, such as headache, abdominal pain, other pain, and nausea and vomiting, changed from 1989 to 1999 and to study the similarity of parents' and children's reports of the child's symptoms. Furthermore, the aims were to explore possible comorbidity in somatic symptoms and to investigate the associations between somatic and psychiatric symptoms.

Methods. Two cross-sectional, representative samples were compared. All children born in 1981 (1989 sample, n = 985) and 1991 (1999 sample, n = 962) and living in selected school districts in southwest Finland served as study samples. The response rate for the 1989 sample was 95% and that for the 1999 sample was 86%. Both children and parents were asked about the children's somatic symptoms, whereas parents, children, and teachers were asked about psychiatric symptoms. To study psychiatric symptoms, the Children's Depression Inventory and Rutter's parent and teacher scales were used.

Results. The prevalence of frequent headaches and abdominal pain increased somewhat from 1989 to 1999. Parents often failed to recognize their children's psychosomatic problems. Child-reported somatic symptoms were associated with conduct and hyperactivity symptoms, in addition to a previously well-documented association with depression. In associations between somatic symptoms and psychiatric symptoms, there were some differences between the 1989 and 1999 samples.

Conclusions. In clinical work, questions about somatic and psychiatric symptoms should also be addressed to children themselves, because parents and teachers do not always recognize children's symptoms. When somatic problems are being evaluated, psychiatric symptoms should be asked about, and vice versa. More research is needed to explore the reasons for the increased prevalence of somatic symptoms and their associations with psychiatric symptoms.

---

Key Words: psychosomatic symptoms • changes • Finland

Abbreviations: CDI, Children's Depression Inventory • OR, odds ratio • CI, confidence interval

---

Accepted Nov 8, 2004.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Gilleland, R. L. Blount, R. M. Campbell, G. L. Johnson, K. J. Dooley MD, and P. Simpson Brief Report: Psychosocial Factors and Pediatric Noncardiac Chest Pain J. Pediatr. Psychol., November 1, 2009; 34(10): 1170 - 1174. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Anttila, L. Metsahonkala, and M. Sillanpaa Long-term trends in the incidence of headache in Finnish schoolchildren. Pediatrics, June 1, 2006; 117(6): e1197 - e1201. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]