Differential relationships of somatization, depression, and anxiety to severity of Crohn’s disease

Shirley Regev, Shmuel Odes, Vered Slonim-Nevo, Michael Friger, Doron Schwartz, Ruslan Sergienko, Rami Eliakim, Orly Sarid

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Patients with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease, struggle with chronic somatic symptoms that could bring about emotional distress. This study assessed the relative role of somatization, and depressive and anxiety symptoms in disease activity among 619 Crohn’s patients (18–79 years; 58.3% women). Structural equation modeling revealed that somatization was the only unique predictor of disease activity beyond depression and anxiety. In addition, the effect of somatization on disease activity was stronger in men compared to women. Findings suggest that somatization represents a distinct domain of psychological distress that may play a role in the health of patients with Crohn’s disease.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2390-2401
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Health Psychology
Volume26
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Nov 2021

Keywords

  • chronic illness
  • distress
  • gender
  • inflammatory bowel diseases
  • somatization

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Applied Psychology

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