Perceived stigma in functional somatic syndromes and comparable medical conditions
Received 12 August 2003; accepted 23 March 2004.
Abstract
Objective
To determine if patients with functional somatic syndromes (FSS) perceive greater levels of stigma than patients with comparable medical conditions that have a clear medical pathology.
Methods
Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were compared to multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBS), respectively.
Results
There were greater levels of perceived stigma in the combined group of FSS compared to the medical control group. When each FSS was compared to its matched control group, only CFS had a higher level of perceived stigma. These results remained when controlling for other variables relevant to stigma.
Conclusions
The higher level of perceived stigma in CFS may be due to the ambiguity of its status as a medical condition. The absence of this effect in FM and IBS is consistent with a greater level of acceptance of these disorders as medical illnesses.
Department of Psychiatry, Sir Mortimer B. Davis—Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, PQ, Canada H3T 1E2
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, Sir Mortimer B. Davis—Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, PQ, Canada H3T 1E2. Tel.: +1-514-340-8222x5890; fax: +1-514-340-8126
ABSTRACT