Psychological factors in functional dyspepsia and its treatment

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of psychological factors in functional dyspepsia (FD) and the effects of antidepressant drugs on FD. METHODS: The psychological status of 24 FD patients and 24 healthy people was analyzed using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS) and the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) scale. Antidepressants were used to treat FD patients for 8 weeks; 13 patients received Prozac, 11 patients received Seroxat. Psychometric analysis was carried out before and after treatment. RESULTS: There were significant differences in somatic and psychometric scores on the HAS and SCL-90 scales in the two groups (P < 0.001). The scores of the FD patients improved significantly after 8 weeks of treatment (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Psychological factors played a role in the etiology of FD. The patients commonly had depression or anxiety. Antidepressants were effective in the treatment of FD for improving both somatic and psychological symptoms.