Incidence of Somatic Disease in Psychiatric Patients

This study tested the hypothesis that persons with impaired psychological adaptive capacity, operationally defined by status as psychiatric patients, would demonstrate a greater incidence of somatic disease than would a control group. Four hundred and seventy one university students seen in a psychiatric out-patient clinic were compared with 480 control subjects for the incidence of thirteen categories of disease based on their medical records. Results confirm the hypothesis at appropriate statistical levels of confidence. The data support the thesis that there is a higher incidence of somatic disease in those with impaired psychological adaptive capacity rather than simply a differential body consciousness.