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Somatization in Primary Care, With a Focus on Immigrants and Refugees
Rolando Castillo, PhD;
Howard Waitzkin, MD, PhD;
Yvette Ramirez;
Javier I. Escobar, MD
Arch Fam Med. 1995;4(7):637-646.
Abstract
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An influx of immigrants and refugees into the United States has created challenges for family physicians and other primary care practitioners, including the recognition and treatment of somatization (symptoms for which no organic pathologic explanation can be found). In this structured review of the literature on somatization and its comorbidity, we focus on immigrants and refugees as well as on the clinical implications for primary care providers. Somatoform symptoms are common presenting complaints among refugees and immigrants who seek primary care services. Such symptoms may result from extremely stressful experiences before, during, or after migration and may co-occur with other mental health disorders. Varying cultural patterns also shape the presentation of somatoform symptoms in primary care. The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder and somatization remains incompletely assessed. Culturally mediated somatoform complaints among immigrants and refugees should become a focus of further research and educational efforts in family medicine and primary care.
Author Affiliations
From the Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine (Drs Castillo and Waitzkin and Ms Ramirez), and the Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Piscataway (Dr Escobar).
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Measuring Trauma and Health Status in Refugees: A Critical Review
Hollifield et al.
JAMA 2002;288:611-621.
ABSTRACT
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Somatization in an Immigrant Population in Israel: A Community Survey of Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Help-Seeking Behavior
Ritsner et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2000;157:385-392.
ABSTRACT
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