The prevalence of psychosomatic complaints among 8-17-year-old Hungarian children

Abstract

Introduction: Subjective health complaints are common among children as well. Age, gender, health status, etc. can modify the prevalence, intensity, frequency and the dimensions of the psychosomatic complaints. Aim: The main purposes were to analyse the frequency pattern of psychosomatic complaints in children as well as to study the influence of physical status and lifestyle factors on psychosomatic status. Method: The subjects of the present analysis represented a random sample of the Hungarian National Growth Study (n = 13 331; 8-17-year-old). The three clusters of the health complaints were somatic, psychological and sleeping disorders. The psychosomatic status of 8-17-year-old children was analysed by dividing them into subgroups of experiencing the subjective health complaints often (weekly or more often), on an average level or rarely. Frequency distributions were examined for each subjective health complaint. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to reveal the relationship between the frequency pattern of psychosomatic complaints and the hypothesized predictive factors. Results: The prevalence of the psychosomatic complaints increased by age, and girls reported more symptoms than boys. Subjective health status, nutritional status, body image, academic achievement, stature, body mass and socio-economic status influenced the frequency pattern of psychosomatic complaints in girls, while physical activity, self-esteem, socioeconomic status and subjective health status in boys. Conclusions: Age, gender, socioeconomic status and psychosocial status can affect the frequency pattern of the psychosomatic complaints.