Advances in Psychosomatic Medicine最新文献

New developments in the area of sexual dysfunction, e.g. epidemiology and pharmacological treatment, are reviewed. Areas where new developments/changes are needed, such as diagnosis of sexual dysfunction and research methodology, are also briefly discussed.

The physiology of sexual function and dysfunction is complex and involves biologic, psychological, emotional and social factors in both men and women. As a result, multiple investigative tools are needed to achieve a thorough and comprehensive understanding of these processes. Recently, there have been many advances in the field of medical imaging; many of these imaging techniques have been applied to the study of sexual function and have allowed us to obtain an additional perspective of sexual processes in the research setting. The purpose of this chapter is to review and discuss these techniques with an emphasis on how they contribute to our understanding of sexual function and dysfunction.

Erectile dysfunction is a common problem affecting sexual function in men. Approximately one in 10 men over the age of 40 is affected by this condition and the incidence is age related. Erectile dysfunction is a sentinel marker for several reversible conditions including peripheral and coronary vascular disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Endothelial dysfunction is a common factor between the disease states. Concurrent conditions such as depression, late-onset hypogonadism, Peyronie's disease and lower urinary tract symptoms may significantly worsen erectile function, other sexual and relationship issues and penis dysmorphophobia. A focused physical examination and baseline laboratory investigations are mandatory. Management consists of initiating modifiable lifestyle changes, psychological and psychosexual/couples interventions and pharmacological and other interventions. In combination and with treatment of concurrent comorbid states, these interventions will often bring about successful resolution of symptoms and avoid the need for surgical interventions.

Sexual dysfunction is common in the general population and even more common in the mentally or medically ill. Because mentally ill patients often receive psychotropics, many of which affect sexual functioning, a patient's pre-existing sexual difficulties are often compounded, and these adverse effects may contribute to psychological difficulties or medication discontinuation. The effects of antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and anxiolytics on sexual functioning are critically reviewed. When possible, the types of sexual dysfunction (e.g. desire, arousal, or orgasm) induced by the drug is described. Treatments for drug-induced sexual function are described, but few controlled studies show benefit. Only sildenafil stands as a convincing treatment for drug-induced sexual dysfunction. The paper focuses on the placebo-controlled clinical trials that specifically evaluated sexual functioning in patients treated with psychotropics. Controlled studies are few for all the agents, though best for the antidepressants and antipsychotics. The exact magnitude and phase of sexual functioning affected remains to be elucidated for most psychotropic drugs. Although all phases of sexual functioning may be impaired by psychotropics, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants appear to primarily affect orgasm, while antipsychotics primarily affect desire. There is insufficient evidence to make conclusions about the anxiolytics or mood stabilizers.

Sexual dysfunction is prevalent among psychiatric patients and may be related to both the psychopathology and the pharmacotherapy. The negative symptoms of schizophrenia limit the capability for interpersonal and sexual relationships. The first-generation antipsychotics cause further deterioration in erectile and orgasmic function. Due to their weak antagonistic activity at D2 receptors, second-generation antipsychotics are associated with fewer sexual side effects, and thus may provide an option for schizophrenia patients with sexual dysfunction. Depression and anxiety are a cause for sexual dysfunction that may be aggravated by antidepressants, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction may be overcome by lowering doses, switching to an antidepressant with low propensity to cause sexual dysfunction (bupropion, mirtazapine, nefazodone, reboxetine), addition of 5HT2 antagonists (mirtazapine, mianserin) or coadministration of 5-phosphodiesterase inhibitors. Eating disorders and personality disorders, mainly borderline personality disorder, are also associated with sexual dysfunction. Sexual dysfunction in these cases stems from impaired interpersonal relationships and may respond to adequate psychosexual therapy. It is mandatory to identify the specific sexual dysfunction and to treat the patients according to his/her individual psychopathology, current pharmacotherapy and interpersonal relationships.

Sexuality is the ultimate union of mind and body. Sexual dysfunction is often the first manifestation of physical illness but is often not inquired about on routine review of symptoms. This is, in large part, due to the health care providers' lack of knowledge in diagnosis and treatment of sexual impairment as well as their discomfort with this sensitive topic. However, sexual well-being is an important determinant of quality of life and many medically ill patients find sexual intimacy to be an essential mode of communication with their partners. This chapter attempts to methodically delineate physical illnesses causing sexual dysfunction by organ system. Neurologic, endocrinologic, cardiovascular and pelvic illnesses are discussed as to their impact on sexual health. Diagnostic and established treatment strategies are also reviewed. Breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis are touched upon. Although not a disease, pregnancy and its unique impact on sexuality is also discussed. Not only the disease itself but the treatment prescribed may also cause sexual impairment. Thus, a separate section on medications that impair sexual functioning is presented. A table of common medications as a quick reference to their effects on each stage of the sexual cycle is also provided.

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the psychosocial aspects of endocrine disease, such as the role of life stress in the pathogenesis of some conditions, their association with affective disorders, and the presence of residual symptoms after adequate treatment. In clinical endocrinology, exploration of psychosocial antecedents may elucidate the temporal relationships between life events and symptom onset, as it has been shown to be relevant for pituitary (Cushing's disease, hyperprolactinemia) or thyroid (Graves' disease) conditions, as well as the role of allostatic load, linked to chronic stress, in uncovering a person's vulnerability. After endocrine abnormalities are established, they are frequently associated with a wide range of psychological symptoms: at times, such symptoms reach the level of psychiatric illness (mainly mood and anxiety disorders); at other times, however, they can only be identified by the subclinical forms of assessment provided by the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR). Indeed, in a population study, the majority of patients suffered from at least one of the three DCPR syndromes considered: irritable mood, demoralization, persistent somatization. In particular, irritable mood was found to occur in 46% of 146 patients successfully treated for endocrine conditions, a rate similar to that found in cardiology and higher than in oncology and gastroenterology. Long-standing endocrine disorders may imply a degree of irreversibility of the pathological process and induce highly individualized affective responses. In patients who showed persistence or even worsening of psychological distress upon proper endocrine treatment, the value of appropriate psychiatric interventions was underscored. As it happened in other fields of clinical medicine, a conceptual shift from a merely biomedical care to a psychosomatic consideration of the person and his/her quality of life appears to be necessary for improving effectiveness in endocrinology. The DCPR have been demonstrated to be a valuable tool for psychological assessment in the various phases of endocrine disease from diagnostic to follow-up periods.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders are a variable combination of chronic or recurrent medically unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms. They can be conceptualized within the biopsychosocial model of illness as a dysregulation of the brain-gut axis and its relationships with psychosocial variables (psychopathology, health care seeking, life events, somatosensory amplification). Psychopathology may be undetected with the standard psychiatric criteria, particularly at a subclinical level. Using the new classification of the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) for assessing psychosocial components of somatic illnesses, psychosomatic syndromes were found at a prevalence of 2.5 times greater than DSM-IV diagnoses. In particular, alexithymia, persistent somatization, functional somatic symptoms secondary to a psychiatric disorder, and demoralization were the most prevalent syndromes. Furthermore, psychosomatic severity (as measured with the presence of more than one DCPR conditions) strongly predicted the treatment outcome in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders. In particular, alexithymia and persistent somatization were independent predictors of unimprovement (and health anxiety of improvement) after 6 months of treatment as usual, after controlling for gastrointestinal symptoms at baseline. DCPR may therefore be suggested as a reliable assessment instrument for psychological conditions that are relevant for psychosomatic practice and research settings but that are not included in the DSM-IV.

A link between the mind and the skin has long been hypothesized. Indeed, some studies suggested that psychosocial factors may play a role in the pathogenesis and course of several skin diseases. Conversely, other studies suggested that psychiatric disorders and psychosocial difficulties may result as a complication of a primary skin disease. Epidemiological studies indeed found a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders among dermatological patients. This is a source of concern, because psychiatric morbidity is associated with emotional suffering, disability, lower quality of life, poorer adherence to dermatological treatment, and increased risk of self-harm. Conditions such as demoralization, health anxiety, irritable mood, type A behavior, and alexithymia were also found to be frequent in dermatological patients, and to be independently associated with greater psychological distress, lower quality of life, and poorer psychosocial functioning. Several studies also raised concerns about under-recognition and undertreatment of psychiatric disorders. This large body of findings suggests that psychosocial issues deserve more attention in everyday dermatological practice, and highlights the need for a biopsychosocial approach to the management of patients with skin disease. To this purpose, the development of efficient consultation-liaison services enabling an effective collaboration between dermatologists and mental health professionals is mandatory.

The area of psychological factors affecting cancer has been the object of research starting from the early 1950s and consolidating from the 1970s with the development of psychooncology. A series of problems in the DSM and ICD nosological systems, such as the difficult application of the criteria for psychiatric diagnoses (i.e. major depression, adjustment disorders) and the scarce space dedicated to the rubric of psychosocial implications of medical illness (i.e. Psychological Factors Affecting a Medical Condition under 'Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention' in the DSM-IV) represent a major challenge in psycho-oncology. The application of the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) has been shown to be useful in a more precise identification of several psychological domains in patients with cancer. The DCPR dimensions of health anxiety, demoralization and alexithymia have been shown to be quite frequent in cancer patient (37.7, 28.8 and 26%, respectively). The overlap between a formal DSM-IV diagnosis and the DCPR is low, with 58% of patients being categorized as non-cases on the DSM-IV having at least one DCPR syndrome. The specific quality of the DCPR in characterizing psychosocial aspects secondary to cancer is also confirmed by the fact that some dimensions of coping (e.g. Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer subscale hopelessness) correlate with the DCPR dimension of demoralization, while a quantitative approach on symptom assessment (e.g. stress symptoms on the Brief Symptom Inventory) is not useful in discriminating the patients with and without DCPR syndromes. More research is needed in order to understand the relationship between DCPR constructs (e.g. alexithymia) and psychosocial factors which have been shown to be significant in oncology (e.g. emotional repression and avoidance). The role of specific DCPR constructs in influencing the course of illness is also an area that should be investigated.