Somatisation in functional dyspepsia: integrating gastric physiology with psychological state

摘要

Functional dyspepsia is considered to be the result of a complex interaction between biological, psychological and social factors. In this issue of the journal, Van Oudenhove and colleagues1 (see page 1666) are the first to (1) present a study reporting these three aspects simultaneously in a large sample of patients attending a tertiary clinic and (2) identify whether the symptoms of functional dyspepsia are more closely associated with measures of gastric function or psychological state. The study suggests strongly it is the latter.