Trauma, posttraumatische Belastungsstörung und Somatisierung

In a cross-sectional study, 483 patients (age: 35.8 +/- 13.2 years) of an outpatient psychosomatic university clinic were investigated using a standardized disorder-specific set of tests. 63.1 % of the patients reported to have experienced at least one traumatic event in their life. Test-psychometrically, a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could be assumed in 10.1 %. Compared to non-traumatized patients, patients with a PTSD reported significantly more frequently somatoform symptoms; even the comparison of traumatized patients with and without PTSD demonstrated a pronounced tendency to somatize in PTSD patients. Neurologic, gastrointestinal and cardiopulmonary symptoms, as well as pain sensations and sexual dysfunctioning were predominantly reported as somatoform complaints. The results emphasize the close connection between somatization and PTSD symptoms; this should be increasingly taken into consideration in the diagnostic process within psychotraumatology.