The Association of Sensory Responsiveness with Somatic Symptoms and Illness Anxiety

Background Somatoform Disorders or Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders are a major public health problem.The pathophysiology underlying these disorders is not yet understood. Purpose The aim of this study was to explore if sensory responsiveness could contribute to a better understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying two key symptoms of Somatoform Disorders, namely somatic symptoms and illness anxiety. Methods We measured vibrotactile perception thresholds with the HVLab Perception Meter and examined their association with somatic symptoms, illness anxiety and trait anxiety. A sample of 205 volunteers participated in the study. Results Sensory responsiveness was neither associated with somatic symptoms (β=−0.01; 95 % confidence interval (CI), −0.37, 0.39) nor trait anxiety (β=−0.07; 95 % CI, −0.30, 0.07). However, lower vibrotactile perception thresholds were associated with increased scores of the overall illness anxiety scale (β=−0.65; 95 % CI, −1.21, −0.14) and its constituent subscale disease conviction (β=−2.07; 95%CI, −3.94, −0.43). Conclusions Our results suggest that increased sensory responsiveness is associated with illness anxiety and hence should be examined further as potential target within the etiopathology of somatoform disorders.