Psychogenic symptoms in patients with noncardiac chest pain

Chang, Young Ho; Choi, Ji Ho; Lee, Sang Hyun; Kwak, In Ho; Lee, Sun Duk

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Patients with chest pain are common among outpatients. Several researches shows that chest pain patients can suffer from psychiatric illnesses such as hypochondriasis, depression, anxiety, somatization, panic disorder and so on. This study aims to examine the pschogenic symptoms in patients with noncardiac chest pain
METHODS
In this study, the 98 people who have undergone treadmill test for chest pain during the three months from June 1st to September 30 of 1998 were selected, and the 98 patients were asked to respond to the prepared questionnaire and SCL-MPD(symptom check list-minor psychiatric disorders) before they underwent treadmill test. And then, they were classified into two groups. One group consisted of patients with noncardiac chest,pain, and the other group of patients with cardiac chest pain. These two groups were compared in 10 measures, and the compared results were analyzed by t-test.
RESULTS
Among the 25 patients with cardiac chest pain, 15 patients were males and 10 patients (38%) were females, and among the 44 patients with noncardiac chest pain, 31 patients (70%) were males, 13 patients (30%) were females. The average age was 47 years old. The average age in patients with noncardiac chest pain was 48, and the 46 for those patients with cardiac chest pain . In the statistical analysis between the patients with cardiac chest pain and those with noncardiac chest pain, significant difference(p<0.005) was shown in the measures such as somatization, depression, phobic anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, neurasthenic, hypochondriacal, anxiety, anger-hostility, interpersonal sensitivity.
CONCLUSIONS
As in the analysis the patients with noncardiac chest pain showed significant difference in the symptom check list-minor psychiatric disorder compared to those with cardiac chest pain. We conclude that primary care physician should take more interest in evaluating psychiatric symptoms in patients with noncardiac chest pain.