Yeungnam Univ J Med.  1999 Dec;16(2):244-254.

An Investingation of Psychological Factors in Patients with Functional Dyspepsia

• Kim JS
• Bai DS
• Lee KH
• Suh JI

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This subjects investigated the psychological characteristics of patients with functional dyspepsia.
METHODS
The subjects included ninety patients with functional dyspepsia and sixty four psychiatric out-patients. We administered Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Illness Behavior Questionnaire(IBQ).
RESULTS
There were no significant differences between the patients with functional dyspepsia and the psychiatric out-patients by MMPI. Two groups both showed a higher distribution in hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria subscales than in any other subscales. The patients with functional dyspepsia showed lower scores in disease conviction and affective disturbance subscales in IBQ subscales were similar between the patients with functional dyspepsia and the psychiatric out-patients. The patients with functional dyspepsia were divided into three groups for the Multivariate cluster analysis: normal(group 1), similar to psychiatric out-patient(group 2), and severe neurotic(group 3). The severe neurotic group showed higher scores in hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychathenia, and schizophrenia subscales in MMPI and showed significant different scores in affective disturbance, disease conviction, psychological and somatic concerns, affective disturbance, denial, and irritability subscales in IBQ.
CONCLUSION
If patients with functional dyspepsia show severe neurotic behavior, such as those in(group 3), they would need appropriate psychiatric intervention.

Keyword

Functional dyspepsia; MMPI; Illness behavior

MeSH Terms

Denial (Psychology)
Depression
Dyspepsia*
Humans
Hypochondriasis
Hysteria
Illness Behavior
MMPI
Outpatients
Psychology*
Schizophrenia