TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of functional somatic syndromes and bodily distress syndrome in the Danish population
T2 - the DanFunD study
AU - Petersen, Marie Weinreich
AU - Schröder, Andreas
AU - Jørgensen, Torben
AU - Ørnbøl, Eva
AU - Dantoft, Thomas Meinertz
AU - Eliasen, Marie
AU - Carstensen, Tina Wisbech
AU - Falgaard Eplov, Lene
AU - Fink, Per
PY - 2020/7
Y1 - 2020/7
N2 - Aims: Little is known about the prevalence and characteristics of functional somatic syndromes (FSS) such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia (FM), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), whiplash associated disorders (WAD), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), and bodily distress syndrome (BDS) in the general population when they are investigated simultaneously. Method: This cross-sectional study is based on the Danish Study of Functional Disorders (DanFunD) cohort consisting of 9656 adults from the general population. FSS and BDS were identified by questionnaires and characterized by age, sex, vocational training, physical health and comorbidity with physical and psychiatric disease. Results: In total, 16.3% (95% CI: 15.6-17.1) of the participants fulfilled the criteria for at least one FSS, ranging from 1.7% for WAD to 8.6% for CFS, and 16.1% (95% CI: 15.4-16.9) fulfilled the criteria for BDS. Cases had a high risk of poor self-perceived health, limitations in daily activities, and a high psychiatric comorbidity, all increasing with the number of syndromes in each individual. However, the associations differed across the various FSS. Mutual overlaps of IBS, FM and CFS were greater than could be expected by chance. Conclusions: FSS and BDS are prevalent in the adult Danish population, and cases have high risk of poor self-perceived health, limitation in daily activities, and psychiatric comorbidity. These associations were particularly strong for cases with multiple FSS and multi-organ BDS.
AB - Aims: Little is known about the prevalence and characteristics of functional somatic syndromes (FSS) such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia (FM), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), whiplash associated disorders (WAD), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), and bodily distress syndrome (BDS) in the general population when they are investigated simultaneously. Method: This cross-sectional study is based on the Danish Study of Functional Disorders (DanFunD) cohort consisting of 9656 adults from the general population. FSS and BDS were identified by questionnaires and characterized by age, sex, vocational training, physical health and comorbidity with physical and psychiatric disease. Results: In total, 16.3% (95% CI: 15.6-17.1) of the participants fulfilled the criteria for at least one FSS, ranging from 1.7% for WAD to 8.6% for CFS, and 16.1% (95% CI: 15.4-16.9) fulfilled the criteria for BDS. Cases had a high risk of poor self-perceived health, limitations in daily activities, and a high psychiatric comorbidity, all increasing with the number of syndromes in each individual. However, the associations differed across the various FSS. Mutual overlaps of IBS, FM and CFS were greater than could be expected by chance. Conclusions: FSS and BDS are prevalent in the adult Danish population, and cases have high risk of poor self-perceived health, limitation in daily activities, and psychiatric comorbidity. These associations were particularly strong for cases with multiple FSS and multi-organ BDS.
KW - bodily distress syndrome
KW - chronic fatigue syndrome
KW - fibromyalgia
KW - Irritable bowel syndrome
KW - multiple chemical sensitivity
KW - whiplash associated disorders
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85071443381&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1403494819868592
DO - 10.1177/1403494819868592
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 31409218
SN - 1403-4956
VL - 48
SP - 567
EP - 576
JO - Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. Supplement
JF - Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. Supplement
IS - 5
ER -