Functional Disorders

Introduction The term “functional somatic syndrome” refers to several overlapping syndromes that are characterized mostly by symptoms, suffering, and disability and less by disease-specific abnormalities of structure or function. They include, but are not limited to, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia (FM), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and restless leg syndrome (RLS). Physicians in many medical specialties are frequently seen by patients who have these often disabling, distressing somatic symptoms and who require diagnostic labels for their illness. Many functional somatic syndromes have major sociocultural and economic implications.