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Psychosomatic Aspects and Psychiatric Conditions

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Pruritus

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Abstract

This chapter elucidates psychosomatic aspects of pruritus in healthy persons, in pruritic dermatologic skin diseases and in symptomatic pruritus. It reports the research findings on the role of personality aspects, stressful life events and some psychophysiologic and psychoneuroimmunologic aspects of pruritus. It also discusses developmental, social and behavioural aspects. In the second part it gives a systematic of psychiatric conditions and psychic disorders associated with pruritus: (A) Chronic itching as a symptom of psychic disorders; (B) Multifactorially induced itching, the onset and course of which may be considerably influenced by psychic factors; (C) Psychic disorders as a result of chronic itching and (D) Co-morbidity with psychic disorders. Frequency of psychic disorders in patients with chronic pruritus is high and some psychotherapeutic approaches are presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Münster, University of Münster, Domagkstr. 22, Münster, 48129, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Gudrun Schneider MD

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  1. Gudrun Schneider MD
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Correspondence to Gudrun Schneider MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, University of Brest, Brest, France

    Laurent Misery

  2. Center of Chronic Pruritus, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Sonja Ständer

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© 2016 Springer-Verlag London

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Schneider, G. (2016). Psychosomatic Aspects and Psychiatric Conditions. In: Misery, L., Ständer, S. (eds) Pruritus. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33142-3_40

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33142-3_40

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33140-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33142-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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