Fluctuation of functional somatic disorders in a population-based cohort. The DanFunD study

Signe U Schovsbo; Line L Kårhus; Anne A Bjerregaard; Marie W Petersen; Lisbeth Frostholm; Per Fink; Tina B W Carstensen; Lene F Eplov; Michael E Benros; Susanne Brix; Anja L Madsen; Allan Linneberg; Thomas M Dantoft; Torben Jørgensen

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0312031

Fluctuation of functional somatic disorders in a population-based cohort. The DanFunD study

Signe U Schovsbo, Line L Kårhus, Anne A Bjerregaard, Marie W Petersen, Lisbeth Frostholm, Per Fink, Tina B W Carstensen, Lene F Eplov, Michael E Benros, Susanne Brix, Anja L Madsen, Allan Linneberg, Thomas M Dantoft, Torben Jørgensen

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Evidence of incidence of functional somatic disorders (FSD) is hampered by unclear delimitations of the conditions and little is known about the possible interchangeability between syndromes. Further, knowledge on remission and persistence of FSD in the general population is limited. We aimed to assess the natural course of various FSD over 5 years in the general population.

METHODS: A follow-up study (Danish Study of Functional Disorders-DanFunD) was conducted in a random sample of the general population comprising 5,738 participants aged 18-76 years at baseline. Both at baseline and five-year follow-up, participants filled in validated questionnaires on symptoms to delimitate two approaches of FSD, the bodily distress syndrome (BDS) and four functional somatic syndromes (FSS): irritable bowel (IB), chronic fatigue (CF), chronic widespread pain (CWP), and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).

RESULTS: Both BDS and FSS showed a five-year incidence around 11%. Incidence of the individual FSS varied from 0.8% (MCS) to 5.7% (CF). BDS and FSS showed a remission proportion close to 50%. We found a high degree of interchangeability between each FSS varying from 15.0% to 23.4%.

CONCLUSION: We identified a marked fluctuation pattern of FSD during a five-year period, with a high degree of interchangeability between each FSS. The study stresses the importance of large population-based cohorts with transparent delimitation of FSD in future research to understand these complex conditions.

Original language	English
Article number	e0312031
Journal	PLoS One
Volume	19
Issue number	10
Pages (from-to)	e0312031
ISSN	1932-6203
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312031
Publication status	Published - Oct 2024

Keywords

Humans
Middle Aged
Adult
Female
Male
Aged
Adolescent
Young Adult
Follow-Up Studies
Incidence
Surveys and Questionnaires
Somatoform Disorders/epidemiology
Cohort Studies
Denmark/epidemiology
Irritable Bowel Syndrome/epidemiology
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/epidemiology

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Schovsbo, S. U., Kårhus, L. L., Bjerregaard, A. A., Petersen, M. W., Frostholm, L., Fink, P., Carstensen, T. B. W., Eplov, L. F., Benros, M. E., Brix, S., Madsen, A. L., Linneberg, A., Dantoft, T. M., & Jørgensen, T. (2024). Fluctuation of functional somatic disorders in a population-based cohort. The DanFunD study. PLoS One, 19(10), e0312031. Article e0312031. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312031

Schovsbo, SU , Kårhus, LL , Bjerregaard, AA, Petersen, MW, Frostholm, L, Fink, P, Carstensen, TBW, Eplov, LF , Benros, ME, Brix, S, Madsen, AL , Linneberg, A , Dantoft, TM & Jørgensen, T 2024, 'Fluctuation of functional somatic disorders in a population-based cohort. The DanFunD study', PLoS One, vol. 19, no. 10, e0312031, pp. e0312031. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312031

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title = "Fluctuation of functional somatic disorders in a population-based cohort. The DanFunD study",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: Evidence of incidence of functional somatic disorders (FSD) is hampered by unclear delimitations of the conditions and little is known about the possible interchangeability between syndromes. Further, knowledge on remission and persistence of FSD in the general population is limited. We aimed to assess the natural course of various FSD over 5 years in the general population.METHODS: A follow-up study (Danish Study of Functional Disorders-DanFunD) was conducted in a random sample of the general population comprising 5,738 participants aged 18-76 years at baseline. Both at baseline and five-year follow-up, participants filled in validated questionnaires on symptoms to delimitate two approaches of FSD, the bodily distress syndrome (BDS) and four functional somatic syndromes (FSS): irritable bowel (IB), chronic fatigue (CF), chronic widespread pain (CWP), and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).RESULTS: Both BDS and FSS showed a five-year incidence around 11%. Incidence of the individual FSS varied from 0.8% (MCS) to 5.7% (CF). BDS and FSS showed a remission proportion close to 50%. We found a high degree of interchangeability between each FSS varying from 15.0% to 23.4%.CONCLUSION: We identified a marked fluctuation pattern of FSD during a five-year period, with a high degree of interchangeability between each FSS. The study stresses the importance of large population-based cohorts with transparent delimitation of FSD in future research to understand these complex conditions.",

keywords = "Humans, Middle Aged, Adult, Female, Male, Aged, Adolescent, Young Adult, Follow-Up Studies, Incidence, Surveys and Questionnaires, Somatoform Disorders/epidemiology, Cohort Studies, Denmark/epidemiology, Irritable Bowel Syndrome/epidemiology, Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/epidemiology",

author = "Schovsbo, {Signe U} and K{\aa}rhus, {Line L} and Bjerregaard, {Anne A} and Petersen, {Marie W} and Lisbeth Frostholm and Per Fink and Carstensen, {Tina B W} and Eplov, {Lene F} and Benros, {Michael E} and Susanne Brix and Madsen, {Anja L} and Allan Linneberg and Dantoft, {Thomas M} and Torben J{\o}rgensen",

note = "Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 Schovsbo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.",

year = "2024",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0312031",

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T1 - Fluctuation of functional somatic disorders in a population-based cohort. The DanFunD study

AU - Schovsbo, Signe U

AU - Kårhus, Line L

AU - Bjerregaard, Anne A

AU - Petersen, Marie W

AU - Frostholm, Lisbeth

AU - Fink, Per

AU - Carstensen, Tina B W

AU - Eplov, Lene F

AU - Benros, Michael E

AU - Brix, Susanne

AU - Madsen, Anja L

AU - Linneberg, Allan

AU - Dantoft, Thomas M

AU - Jørgensen, Torben

N1 - Copyright: © 2024 Schovsbo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

PY - 2024/10

Y1 - 2024/10

N2 - BACKGROUND: Evidence of incidence of functional somatic disorders (FSD) is hampered by unclear delimitations of the conditions and little is known about the possible interchangeability between syndromes. Further, knowledge on remission and persistence of FSD in the general population is limited. We aimed to assess the natural course of various FSD over 5 years in the general population.METHODS: A follow-up study (Danish Study of Functional Disorders-DanFunD) was conducted in a random sample of the general population comprising 5,738 participants aged 18-76 years at baseline. Both at baseline and five-year follow-up, participants filled in validated questionnaires on symptoms to delimitate two approaches of FSD, the bodily distress syndrome (BDS) and four functional somatic syndromes (FSS): irritable bowel (IB), chronic fatigue (CF), chronic widespread pain (CWP), and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).RESULTS: Both BDS and FSS showed a five-year incidence around 11%. Incidence of the individual FSS varied from 0.8% (MCS) to 5.7% (CF). BDS and FSS showed a remission proportion close to 50%. We found a high degree of interchangeability between each FSS varying from 15.0% to 23.4%.CONCLUSION: We identified a marked fluctuation pattern of FSD during a five-year period, with a high degree of interchangeability between each FSS. The study stresses the importance of large population-based cohorts with transparent delimitation of FSD in future research to understand these complex conditions.

AB - BACKGROUND: Evidence of incidence of functional somatic disorders (FSD) is hampered by unclear delimitations of the conditions and little is known about the possible interchangeability between syndromes. Further, knowledge on remission and persistence of FSD in the general population is limited. We aimed to assess the natural course of various FSD over 5 years in the general population.METHODS: A follow-up study (Danish Study of Functional Disorders-DanFunD) was conducted in a random sample of the general population comprising 5,738 participants aged 18-76 years at baseline. Both at baseline and five-year follow-up, participants filled in validated questionnaires on symptoms to delimitate two approaches of FSD, the bodily distress syndrome (BDS) and four functional somatic syndromes (FSS): irritable bowel (IB), chronic fatigue (CF), chronic widespread pain (CWP), and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).RESULTS: Both BDS and FSS showed a five-year incidence around 11%. Incidence of the individual FSS varied from 0.8% (MCS) to 5.7% (CF). BDS and FSS showed a remission proportion close to 50%. We found a high degree of interchangeability between each FSS varying from 15.0% to 23.4%.CONCLUSION: We identified a marked fluctuation pattern of FSD during a five-year period, with a high degree of interchangeability between each FSS. The study stresses the importance of large population-based cohorts with transparent delimitation of FSD in future research to understand these complex conditions.

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KW - Somatoform Disorders/epidemiology

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KW - Irritable Bowel Syndrome/epidemiology

KW - Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/epidemiology

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ER -

Fluctuation of functional somatic disorders in a population-based cohort. The DanFunD study

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