Depression and Somatization in Refractory Lateral Epicondylitis
Eda GÜRÇAY1, Arif Uğur TAMKAN2, Özgür Zeliha KARAAHMET2, Yasemin TOMBAK2, Şükran GÜZEL2, Aytül ÇAKCI2
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gaziler Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
Keywords: Depression, lateral epicondylitis, psychosocial status, somatization
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to present two major psychological factors, namely depression and somatization, which may occur with high probability in patients with refractory lateral epicondylitis (LE).
Patients and methods: This cross-sectional study included 36 patients (11 males, 25 females; mean age 42.6±8.09 years; range 26 to 60 years) diagnosed as refractory LE. Duration of symptoms was >6 months. Each patient completed the Beck Depression Inventory and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised test evaluating psychosocial status and somatization, respectively.
Results: Depression was found in 24 (66.6%) (moderate in 15 [41.7%] and mild in 9 [25%]) and somatization was found in 28 (77.8%) patients. Depression and somatization were significantly more common in females than males (p=0.02 and p=0.04, respectively).
Conclusion: Depression and somatization may occur frequently in refractory LE patients, particularly in females. Both physical and psychological assessment tools should be incorporated into the clinical evaluation while psychological support should be included in the treatment of refractory LE.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.