BACKGROUND Depression is a risk factor for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). It has been reported that somatic symptoms of depression and not cognitive symptoms are associated with increased risk although findings have been inconsistent. Few studies have examined whether co-morbid anxiety confers additive risk. METHODS We conducted a cross sectional analysis of 7872 community dwelling adults aged...

it is not known whether such symptoms are generally experienced more often by patients in non-Western societies than among patients in the Western world. We are not aware of any multicultural study that has set out specifically to compare the prevalence of somatic symptoms in different ethnic groups using a comprehensive inventory of such symptoms. Many well established psychological scales suc...

OBJECTIVE The tripartite model categorizes symptoms of depression and anxiety into three groups: 1) non-specific general distress that is shared between depression and anxiety, 2) depression-specific symptoms that include low positive affect and loss of interest, and 3) anxiety-specific symptoms that include somatic arousal. The Mood and Anxiety Symptoms Questionnaire (MASQ) was developed to me...

Elevated amygdala activity and increased responsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis have been observed in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients. Recently, we demonstrated that corticosterone (Cort) placed on the amygdala induced anxiety-like behavior coupled with decreased thresholds for visceral and somatic pain in rats. Moreover, these studies suggested that the effects of Co...

BACKGROUND Our purpose was to examine the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) in Taiwan, and to explore its relation to somatoform disorders (DSM-IV) and to somatic symptom and related disorders (DSM-5). METHODS We recruited 471 individuals, 151 with somatoform disorders and 200 with somatic symptom and related disorders. Subjects co...

The role of anxiety symptoms in the development functional somatic (FSS) is unknown. Somatic may be triggered by or give rise to symptoms. This study aimed 1) explore interrelationships among within-day worrying, feeling anxious, and symptoms, 2) investigate association between these overall level FSS. included 767 participants (83% females, mean age 39 years), who were recruited through an onl...

This study explored the changes in complaint-related cognitions and anxiety of 110 consecutive out-patients with functional abdominal complaints (irritable bowel syndrome), during a series of consultations. Patients' anxiety, fear of cancer, somatic attribution concerning intestines or stomach and catastrophizing cognitions appeared to diminish significantly during the consulting period. Positi...

A brief, group cognitive behavioural therapy with running as the interoceptive exposure (IE; exposure to physiological sensations) component was effective in decreasing anxiety sensitivity (AS; fear of arousal sensations) levels in female undergraduates (Watt et al., Anxiety and Substance Use Disorders: The Vicious Cycle of Comorbidity, 201-219, 2008). Additionally, repeated exposure to running...