Intersectional inequalities in somatic symptom severity in the adult population in Germany found within the SOMA.SOC study 2024 Barbek et al

[Andy]

Abstract

Somatic symptoms are common in a wide range of medical conditions. In severe cases, they are associated with high individual and economic burden. To explore social inequalities in somatic symptom severity (SSS) and to identify social groups with highest SSS, we applied an intersectional research approach. Analyses are based on cross-sectional data of the adult population living in Germany (N = 2413). SSS was assessed with the Somatic Symptom Scale-8. A multiple linear regression model with three-way interaction of gender, income and history of migration and post-hoc pairwise comparison of estimated marginal means was conducted. Analyses revealed intersectional inequalities in SSS along the axis of gender, income, and history of migration. Highest SSS was found in males with low income whose parent(s) immigrated, females with low income who immigrated themselves, and females with low income and no history of migration. Intersectional approaches contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of health disparities. To reduce disparities in SSS, proportionate universal interventions combining universal screening and targeted treatment seem promising.

Open access, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-54042-8

 

[Andy]

Earlier publication of interest, Social inequalities in aggravating factors of somatic symptom persistence (SOMA.SOC): study protocol... 2023 von dem Knesebeck et al

 

[Hutan]

"Somatic symptoms" - always hard to know if words mean what they are supposed to, or if they have a meaning that is almost the opposite of that.

I was well into the Methods section before I had any idea, and, even then, I wasn't really sure:

Somatic symptom severity (SSS): To assess SSS, the German version of the Somatic Symptom Scale-8 (SSS-8)9 was used as the short version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15) . The scale consists of eight items asking about the most frequent somatic symptoms, using a time interval of the last seven days. Each item can be scored on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = not bothered at all to 4 = bothered very much). The total score of the sum scale ranges from 0 to 32 with higher scores indicating higher SSS. The German version of the SSS-8 has good internal consistency with Cronbach α = 0.819. In the present study, Cronbach α was 0.82. Additionally, to assess different somatic symptom patterns, the eight items of the SSS-8 can be assigned to four subscales: gastrointestinal (1 item: stomach or bowel problems), pain (3 items: back pain; pain in arm, legs, joints; headache), cardiopulmonary (2 items: chest pain or shortness of breath; dizziness), and fatigue (2 items: feeling tired or having low energy; trouble sleeping).

 

[SNT Gatchaman]

"Somatic symptoms" - always hard to know if words mean what they are supposed to, or if they have a meaning that is almost the opposite of that.

As far as I've observed the term "somatic symptoms" is only ever used to imply psychogenic causation, i.e. the "psycho" of "psychosomatic" is silent.

When medicine is talking about biological disease, the term is simply "symptoms".