Are Functional Syndromes Culture-Bound?

Abstract

In this article I will try to give an answer to two questions, firstly, “what are functional syndromes?” and, secondly, “what is their connection to social and cultural events?”. Let me start off by summarizing the results of two fairly recent studies:

• 1. A nine-year follow-up-study conducted 1979 by Berkman and Syme in Almeda County (Cal.) compared the mortality of socially isolated individuals to the mortality of those with extensive social contacts. Their results, drawn from 6928 adults, show an increase in the relative risk of mortality by 2.3 in males, and 2.8 in females of the socially isolated group. And this increase was reported to be independent of life habits such as smoking and alcohol consumption, self reported physical health status, physical activity, obesity, socio-economic status and participation in preventive health services (Berkman and Syme 1979).

• 2. An epidemiological survey on recently divorced women by Chester in 1973 revealed an 85% incidence of health complaints. These complaints mainly consisted of 4–5 different symptoms, ranging from anorexia, heartache, stomachache and headache to insomnia, dizziness, skin-rash, abscess and hair-loss. 75% of patients went to see a physician. As a response to these symptoms psychotherapy or social counselling was however rarely practised. Therapy consisted almost exclusively in the prescription of psychopharmaca and sedatives. The duration of treatment thus exceeded two years in 25%, while only one remaining quarter of therapies came to an end within the first six months after initiation. Many cases of iatrogenic drug addiction were the consequence of these prolonged regimens (Chester 1973).