Somatization Disorder in Primary Care

The dilemma of the patient presenting with multiple somatic symptoms is a common one for the general physician. The patient may have a confusing, subtle presentation of a systemic illness, which the primary physician wants to identify in its early stages. However, the physician also needs to assess the likelihood that the patient's somatic problems represent one of the somatoform disorders, which, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, third edition (DSM III),1 include somatization disorder, hypochondriasis, psychogenic pain disorder, and conversion disorder. This paper reviews somatization disorder, a chronic psychiatric condition that begins before the age of . . .