Abstract

In this proof-of-concept study, we used a systems perspective to conceptualize and investigate treatment-related dynamics (temporal and cross-sectional associations) of symptoms and elements related to the manifestation of a common functional somatic syndrome (FSS), Globus Sensations (GS). We analyzed data from 100 patients (M = 47.1 years, SD = 14.4 years; 64% female) with GS who received eight sessions of group psychotherapy in the context of a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Symptoms and elements were assessed after each treatment session. We applied a multilevel graphical vector-autoregression (ml GVAR) model approach resulting in three separate, complementary networks (temporal, contemporaneous, and between-subject) for an affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimension, respectively. GS were not temporally associated with any affective, cognitive, and behavioral elements. Temporally, catastrophizing cognitions predicted bodily weakness (r = 0.14, p < 0.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.04–0.23]) and GS predicted somatic distress (r = 0.18, p < 0.05, 95% CI [0.04–0.33]). Potential causal pathways between catastrophizing cognitions and bodily weakness as well as GS and somatic distress may reflect treatment-related temporal change processes in patients with GS. Our study illustrates how dynamic NA can be used in the context of outcome research.

Details

Title
Treatment-associated network dynamics in patients with globus sensations: a proof-of-concept study
Author
Imperiale, Marina N. 1 ; Lieb, Roselind 1 ; Meinlschmidt, Gunther 2 

 University of Basel, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, Basel, Switzerland (GRID:grid.6612.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0642) 
 University of Basel, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, Basel, Switzerland (GRID:grid.6612.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0642); International Psychoanalytic University (IPU) Berlin, Department of Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Berlin, Germany (GRID:grid.461709.d) (ISNI:0000 0004 0431 1180); University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Department of Digital and Blended Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatic Medicine, Basel, Switzerland (GRID:grid.6612.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0642) 
Pages
15615
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2866557194
Copyright
© Springer Nature Limited 2023. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.