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The use of hospitalizations by persistent somatizing patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Per Fink
Per Fink*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatric Demography, Aarhus Psychiatric Hospital, Risskov, Denmark
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr Per Fink, Institute of Psychiatric Demography, Aarhus Psychiatric Hospital, DK-8240 Risskov, Denmark.
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Synopsis

Medical records were selected from the Danish National Patient Register in order to study individuals between the ages of 17 and 49 years in the general population who, during an 8-year period, were admitted at least 10 times to a general hospital (N = 282). Fifty-six subjects (19%) were found to be persistent somatizers, i.e. they were admitted repeatedly to general hospitals for physical symptoms without an organic basis. This corresponded to a frequency of persistent somatization in the population 0·6 per 1000 men and 3·2 per 1000 women.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , February 1992 , pp. 173 - 180
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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