Khalid Hayat Khan, Khalid Hayat Khan, Mubashar Hussain Shah.
Anxiety & Depression; Comparative study of somatic symptoms between two population groups.
Professional Med J Jan ;10(4):298-301.

Objective: To compare the type and frequency of somatic symptoms of anxiety and depression between female population of Punjab and that of Sind. Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and duration of study: From 1st March 2003 to 30th June, 2003 at the Department of Psychiatry, Combined Military Hospital Pano Aqil Cantt. Subjects & Methods: All female patients reporting in psychiatry outdoor, fulfilling ICD-10 diagnostic criteria of anxiety and/or depression were included in the study. Patients having co-morbidity were excluded. Similarly, patients unable to communicate in Urdu were excluded. Somatic symptoms were recorded in the standard Urdu version of Bradford Somatic Inventory. Finally, two groups of patients were obtained, 50 patients belonging to Punjab, living with their husbands/sons at Pano Aqil Cantt, and 50 belonging to native Sindhi population. Both the groups contained first consecutive cases. Somatic symptoms were then compared between two groups and results obtained. Patients belonging to Punjab were designated group-I and those from Sind as group-II. Result: Somatic symptoms which were significantly frequent but almost equal in both the groups included generalized headache group-I 70% and group-II 66%, pain neck and upper trunk muscles group-I 85% and group-II 80%, backache group-I 52% and group-II 45 and generalized weakness group-I 48% and group-II 45% , palpitation-group-I 45% and group-II 36%, and easy fatigability group-I 32% and group-II 35%. Somatic symptoms with significant difference between two groups included frontal headache group-I 50% and group-II 30%, unilateral headache group-I 30% and group-II 10% bi-temporal headache group-I 52% and group-II 30% central chest pain group-I 25% and group-II 52%, pain both breasts group-I 2% and group-II 36% dyspepsia group-I 60% and group-II 85%, and generalized bodyaches and pains group-I 60% and group-II 30%. Conclusion: Somatization of underlying anxiety and depression is very frequent in both the population groups. There are a few differences which probably can be explained on the basis of socio-cultural setting of the two areas of Pakistan.

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