Castelli, L

Ghiggia, A

Tesio, V

English

Institutional Research Information System University of Turin

1The clinimetric methodXII National Congressof the Research Group in Psychosomatics (RGP)October 21 and 22, 2022THE CLINIMETRIC METHODClin Ter 2022; 173 Suppl. 1(5)    doi: 10.7417/CT.2022.2451ForewordThis Supplement of La Clinica Terapeutica includes abstracts of lectures, symposia, workshops, clinical case presen-tations and posters of the XII National Congress of the Research Group in Psychosomatics (RGP).The Congress is characterized by “The clinimetric method”. It is a tribute to Alvan Feinstein who 40 years ago introduced clinimetrics as a discipline aimed at creating indices, rating scales and other expressions to describe or measure symptoms, physical signs and other clinical phenomena. The standard taxonomy, in fact, did not include, and still does not include, the patterns of symptoms, the severity of the disease, the effects of comorbid manifestations, the timing of the phenomena, the rate of disease progression, functional capacity and other clinical characteristics which demarcate the main prognostic and therapeutic differences between patients who otherwise would appear deceptively similar because they share the same diagnosis and laboratory results. Feinstein also added the psychosocial impact of the disease and treatment on individual, family and interpersonal relationships, including physical activity, the joys and pains of everyday life.Psychosomatics represents an extraordinary opportunity to improve clinical practice in medicine, psychiatry and clinical psychology by integrating biological, psychological and social factors. The bio-psycho-social model is still the theoretical and practical core of psychosomatics. It allows clinicians to see disease as the result of mechanisms of interaction at the cellular, interpersonal and environmental levels that include personality and familiarity. The congress organized by the RGP for 2022 highlights clinimetrics as a science at the service of psychosomatics capable of providing the clinical tools that allow a complete and accurate assessment according to the principles of the bio-psycho-social model. The abstracts describe innovative studies and reflections on the most current and hot topics of psychosomatics. The crucial role of clini-metrics, and of the specific type of assessment it makes possible in psychosomatics, are underlined in research and by the importance of proposing integrated treatments. An increasing number of studies suggest that the clinical process leading to diagnosis should be based on a comprehensive and accurate assessment based on clinically useful indices. Such indices are expected to be, among the others, sensitive in recording changes over time, capable of providing additional information according to the principle of incremental validity, able to investigate the person in the complexity linked to suffering and resources. This approach can be an antidote to the reductionist models that clash with clinical reality and that make the patient’s visit a kind of distracted listening and subsequent random prescription. Clinimetrics and psychosomatic assessment thus become essential in clinical practice and research. The abstracts document how psychosomatics in clinical practice is more timing than ever and adequate for give a home to researchers and clinicians who want to venture off the beaten and clinically unsatisfactory paths of standard nosography.Carmen Berrocal, Coordinator of the CongressFiammetta Cosci, Congress Coordinator, RGP Coordinator32 XII National Congress of the Research Group in Psychosomatics (RGP)Psychological and psychosomatic components in fibromyalgia syndrome.Ada Ghiggia1, Lorys Castelli2, Valentina Tesio21 Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy2 Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, ItalyBackground: Fibromyalgia (FM) is defined as a complex syndrome characterized by chronic musculoskeletal pain and heterogeneous symptomatology, including psychological and psychosomatic manifestations. Although the etiology and development of FM are still unclear, the development and maintenance of the syndrome may be due to a variety of factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of psychological symptoms in a group of patients with fi-bromyalgia (FM) compared with patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to investigate their association with clinical and psychological variables.Methods: One hundred patients with FM and one hundred patients with RA were compared with a group of healthy participants (N = 100). Anxiety-depressive symptoms, alexithymia, psychosomatic syndromes, and quality of life (HRQoL) were assessed. Results: FM patients reported significantly higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms, more psychosomatic syndromes, and lower HRQoL compared with RA patients and HC. Regarding alexithymia, FM patients showed greater difficulties compared to HC, but not compared to RA patients.Conclusion: The present study revealed a higher prevalence of psychological symptoms in fibromyalgia patients com-pared with rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy controls. A better knowledge and understanding of these underlying mechanisms of the syndrome could allow clinicians to structure more specific and tailored interventions, taking more into account the psychological dimension of the disease.

Psychological and psychosomatic components in fibromyalgia syndrome

https://iris.unito.it/bitstream/2318/1889536/1/Ghiggia_GRP_2022_Suppl_Clin_Ter_2022_XII_GRP.pdf

Psychological and psychosomatic components in fibromyalgia syndrome

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