跳至主要内容

Screening for Somatoform Disorders in Children and Adolescents

The somatoform disorders are a group of psychological disorders in which a patient experiences physical symptoms that are inconsistent with or cannot be fully explained by any underlying general medical or neurologic condition. They often lead to significant impairment in the quality of life of patients and their families with high levels of subsequent stress and strains. And to identify the somatoform disorders in children and adolescents in German, a Screening for Somatoform Disorders in Children and Adolescents (SOMS-CA) was developed based on the Screening for Somatoform Disorders (SOMS-2).

The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent the SOMS-CA can differentiate significantly between children and adolescents with clinically diagnosed somatoform disorders and a control group and whether the SOMS-CA is superior to the GSCL-C (Giessen Subjective Complaint List for Children).

30 patients (11 - 17 years) with somatoform disorders and a control group (n = 31) were examined with the SOMS-CA (N = 61). The results from the SOMS-CA in both groups were compared with one another by means of a contingency analysis (chi-square test). The sensitivity and specificity were calculated and an optimal cut-off value was determined (Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (ROC-curve) analysis). A comparison analysis of the ROC-curves of the SOMS-CA and the GSCL-C followed.

The sum score of complaints in the patients was significantly higher than that in the control group. The ROC-curve for the SOMS-CA demonstrated its excellent ability to differentiate between the two groups with an AUC (area under the curve) = 0.983 (SE = 0.14; N = 61). The sensitivity was 97.6%, the specificity 96.8%. In comparison to the AUC of the GSCL-C, the SOMS-CA showed a much higher result. The SOMS-CA successfully identified patients with somatoform disorders from a paediatric population and differentiates from healthy test subjects. A comparison to the GSCL-C showed a considerable superiority of the SOMS-CA.

In summary, the SOMS-CA successfully identifies patients with somatoform disorders from a paediatric population and differentiates from healthy test subjects. A comparison to the GSCL-C shows a considerable superiority of the SOMS-CA. Further studies on the validity of the SOMS-CA are in process, in particular the SOMS-CA as a screening for patients with other psychiatric disorders and for patients with chronic somatic diseases.


Article by S. Winter, et al, from Charité-Universitatsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.

Full access: http://suo.im/4TnCyV

评论

发表评论

此博客中的热门博文

Incorporation of High-Altitude Balloon Experiment in High School Science Classrooms

High-altitude balloon is a balloon, filled usually with helium or hydrogen that ascends into an area called “near space” or stratosphere. The most common type of high-altitude balloons are weather balloons. Other purposes include use as a platform for experiments in the upper atmosphere. Modern balloons generally contain electronic equipment such as radio transmitters, cameras, or satellite navigation systems, such as GPS receivers. The mission of the High-Altitude Balloon Experiment (HABE) is to acquire supporting data, validate enabling technologies, and resolve critical acquisition, tracking, and pointing (ATP) and fire control issues in support of future space-based precision pointing experiments. The use of high-altitude balloons offers a relatively low-cost, low-vibration test platform, a recoverable and reusable payload, worldwide launch capability, and a 'near- space' emulation of the future space systems operational scenarios. More recently, several university...
1 条评论
阅读全文

The Influence of Heated Soil in Crop of “Tamaris” Tomato Plants on the Biological Activity of the Rhizosphere Soil

Tomato is a plant with high heat requirements and sensitive to cold weather and frost. The optimum temperature for the growth of tomato plants is between 21˚C and 27˚C during the day and between 17˚C and 21˚C at night. The soil temperature is also very important for plant growth. The optimum soil temperature for tomato cultivation should be within the range 15˚C - 18˚C. Besides, the proper development of the root system depends on the optimal temperature of the soil. A temperature below 14˚C reduces and inhibits the growth of the root system and encourages the development of fungal and bacterial diseases. In this study, the authors aimed to evaluate the effect of heated soil on the population of bacteria, fungi and nematodes inhabiting the soil of tomato cultivar “Tamaris” growing in peat and coconut substrates. The experiment was carried out in 12 treatments and in 3 replications (one slab was one replication). The soils were tested in two different types of containers: cylinders...
发表评论
阅读全文

Effect of Proline Pretreatment on Grapevine Shoot-Tip Response to a Droplet-Vitrification Protocol

Proline is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Some studies have shown that proline has been accumulated in plants in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Exogenous proline has thus been used for improving some plant cryopreservation protocols. Further enhancement of cryopreservation efficiency for  in vitro  grapevines could be expected if stresses linked to cryopreservation procedures could be reduced. In this study, the authors studied the possible beneficial effect of proline in grapevine cryopreservation. Single-node explants from  in vitro  grown grapevine plantlets ( Vitis vinifera  L. cv Portan) were cultured on shooting media (half-strength MS + 1 μM BAP) containing no proline (control) or 50, 500, or 2000 μM filter-sterilized L-proline. Shoot tips excised from these microshoots were subjected to a PVS2-based droplet-vitrification procedure. Control and rewarmed explants were grown on a recovery medium containing ...
发表评论
阅读全文