Female urge Incontinence is Associated with Somatosensory Amplification, Health Anxiety and Depression

Purpose: Incontinence is a condition that can cause significant problems that can affect patients’ quality of social, emotional, psychological and sexual life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of anxiety, health anxiety, depression, and somatosensory amplification in patients with urge incontinence. Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 58 patients that met the inclusion criteria. The control group consisted of 67 volunteer participants that did not have physical or psychiatric illness and incontinence complaints. All participants filled out sociodemographic data form, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), and Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI). Results: The mean duration of incontinence in patients with urge incontinence was 16.55 ± 10.03 months. The mean age in urge incontinence group and the control group were 40.98 ± 9.58 and 39.1 ± 7.89 years, respectively. The mean values of SSAS, HAI, and BAI scores in the incontinence group were significantly higher than the control group (p <0.001), but there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of BDI scores. The linear regression analysis indicated that HAI and BAI significantly affected SSAS (p = 0.025 and 0.019, respectively). Conclusions: Anxiety, health anxiety and somatosensory amplification are more common in patients who report urge incontinence. For these reasons, we believe that psychiatric evaluation should be included in the diagnosis and treatment process of patients presenting with urgency and incontinence symptoms. Keywords: Incontinance, Somatosensory Amplification, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Urgency.

Levels of anxiety sensitivity, somatosensory amplification and alexithymia in patients with unexplained infertility

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to focus on the psychological aspect of unexplained infertility by comparing the mental symptoms of infertility due to known causes and fertile patients. Patients and Methods: 60 unexplained infertility patiens, 50 infertile patients with a known cause and 56 fertile patients were included in the study. Socio-demographic data form, Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SAS) and Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI-3) were applied to the patients. Results: No significant differences in the levels of alexithymia, somatosensory amplification, and anxiety sensitivity were detected across the groups (p>0.05). When the correlation of clinical scale scores with each other was analyzed in the whole group of infertile patients regardless of the cause, anxiety sensitivity was found increased as difficulty identifying feelings increased. Conclusion: In our study, it has been found out that; regardless of the knowledge of the etiology of infertility, the levels of alexithymia, somatosensory amplification, and anxiety sensitivity of infertile cases did not differ from those of fertile women. However, it has been shown that as the difficulty in identifying emotions increases in infertile cases, anxiety sensitivity, which may cause psychological infertility, also increases.

ALEXITHYMIA AND SOMATOSENSORY AMPLIFICATION AMONG GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER PATIENTS

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic, relapsing anxiety disorder characterized by symptom clusters of worry, functional somatic symptoms, and autonomic hyperactivity. International Classication of Diseases 10 (ICD-10) diagnostic criteria still includes symptoms from all the abovementioned psychopathology clusters of GAD (1). However, in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM), focus shift away from somatic to psychic concern in the diagnosis of GAD (2,3). However, the presence of functional somatic symptoms is must for the diagnosis of GAD both in DSM 5 and ICD-10. The literature on functional somatic symptoms in major depressive disorder, somatoform disorders suggest a correlation of the symptoms with constructs such as somatosensory amplication and alexithymia (4, 5).As functional somatic symptoms are one of the essential criteria of GAD, it is very much relevant from the etiological and psychotherapeutic point of views to measure these constructs in subjects with GAD. In our literature search, we could come across very little research on this important area of investigation (6, 7). In addition, patients from the South Asian countries are shown to present more often with somatic symptoms than psychological symptoms (8). However, the research on functional somatic symptoms in general and GAD in particular in South Asian countries is very scant, and none of the studies have evaluated the above-mentioned correlates in patients with GAD (9, 10). The purpose of the current study was to study somatosensory amplication and alexithymia, in patients with GAD.

Investigating Attachment Insecurity and Somatosensory Amplification, and the Mediating Role of Interpersonal Problems

Background: Somatosensory amplification involves perceptual sensitivity to and cognitive-affective interpretation of bodily sensations and external stimuli, contributing to heightened experiences of somatic symptoms. However, little is known about somatosensory amplification in relation to vulnerabilities such as attachment insecurity. Aims: The present study investigated the link between attachment insecurity and somatosensory amplification, including the mediating role of dysfunctional interpersonal behaviors. Method: A sample of 245 adult community members completed the Somatosensory Amplification Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and abbreviated versions of the Experiences in Close Relationships scale and Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. Correlational and regression analyses were used to examine relations among study variables, including a hypothesized parallel mediation model. Results: Somatosensory amplification was significantly associated with attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance. Regression analyses, controlling for general anxiety symptoms and gender, found that interpersonal sensitivity (but not aggression or ambivalence) mediated the link between attachment anxiety and somatosensory amplification. Limitations: Study limitations include the use of cross-sectional data and a non-clinical sample. Conclusion: The findings indicate that somatosensory amplification may be related to individuals’ attachment anxiety, through the mediating effect of interpersonal sensitivity problems.

A retrospective observational study comparing somatosensory amplification in fibromyalgia, chronic pain, psychiatric disorders and healthy subjects

ObjectivesSomatosensory amplification (SA) has been described as an important feature of somatoform disorders, and an “amplifying somatic style” has been reported as a negative connotation of body perception. As widespread pain (WSP) in fibromyalgia (FM) is due to a central sensitization (CS) rather than organic alterations, there has been discussion as to whether FM is equivalent to or distinct from somatization disorder (SD). Assuming SD and FM are two distinct entities, an increase in somatic amplification should be expected only in subjects who have SD, regardless of the type of pain they experience. Purpose of the study was to explore the magnitude of SA in FM, and whether this depends on the association with SD.MethodsFM (n=159) other forms of chronic pain (OCP, n=582), psychiatric (Psy, n=53) and healthy (H, n=55) subjects were investigated using the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), Illness Behavior Questionnaire, (IBQ), Italian Pain Questionnaire (IPQ), and Cold Pressor Test (CPT) in a retrospective observational study.ResultsFM subjects displayed higher SSAS scores than the other groups. High SSAS score was associated with FM (OR=8.39; 95%CI: 5.43–12.46) but not OCP. Although FM has the highest prevalence of SD (x2=14.07; p=.007), high SSAS scores were associated with SD in OCP but not in FM.ConclusionsUnlike in OCP, in FM high SSAS scores were independent of the presence of SD. From a biopsychosocial perspective, SSAS may be a factor associated with the onset of FM.