Psychiatric traits in patients with vasovagal and unexplained syncope

Abstract

Purpose

Syncope is a common condition affecting almost one-third of the general population. The present study measures the prevalence of psychiatric traits in patients presenting with syncope (unexplained and vasovagal) and whether recurrent attacks have an impact on psychiatric profiles.

Patients and methods

This is a case–control study in a tertiary hospital enrolling all patients aged ≥12 years with single or recurrent syncopal attacks. A self-reporting psychometric questionnaire (The Symptoms Checklist-90-Revised) was used to screen for depression, anxiety, somatization disorder, and phobia. Crude comparisons of average scores were done. Further, multiple logistic regression analyses were carried out to measure the impact of syncope on each psychiatric domain. The control group were matched for age, gender, and chronic illnesses with a ratio of 1:3.

Results

There were 43 cases and 129 control subjects, with predominance of females (67.4%) and an average age of 33.8 years (standard deviation = 16). There were no significant differences in average scores of depression (13 vs 14.53, P = 0.31), anxiety (11.3 vs 10.4, P = 0.51), or phobia (5.4 vs 5.2, P = 0.88). However, the syncope group had a higher average score for somatization disorder (18.53 vs 13.66, P = 0.002). Binary logistic regression model showed that the association between syncope and somatization disorder was independent of competing confounders (odds ratio = 3.75, 95% confidence interval: 1.72, 8.15, P = 0.001). A sub-analysis of the case group showed that patients with multiple syncopal attacks (six or more) had higher average scores of depression, anxiety, phobia, and somatization disorder compared to those who had less than six attacks.

Conclusion

Syncope was independently associated with somatization disorder traits. Further, recurrent syncope resulted in greater deterioration of patients’ psychiatric profiles. Thus, taking into account the psychiatric status in the management of such patients is crucial.

Keywords:

• syncope
• psychiatric disorders
• anxiety
• somatization disorder
• phobia
• depression

Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported in full by SABIC Psychological Health Research and Applications Chair, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Deanship of Post Graduate Teaching, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The abstract of this paper was presented at the 27th Saudi Heart Association Symposium on February 2016 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a conference talk with interim findings. The abstract was published in the Journal of the Saudi Heart Association: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsha.2016.04.012.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.