Somatosensory amplification moderates the efficacy of internet-delivered CBT for somatic symptom distress in emerging adults:.., 2022, Hennemann et al

Full title: Somatosensory amplification moderates the efficacy of internet-delivered CBT for somatic symptom distress in emerging adults: Exploratory analysis of a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective
While studies mainly provide positive evidence for the efficacy of internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT) for various persistent somatic symptoms, it remains largely unclear for whom these interventions work or not. This exploratory analysis aimed to identify moderators for the outcome between ICBT for somatic symptom distres and a waitlist control group (WL) in a vulnerable target group of emerging adults.

Methods
Based on data from a randomized controlled trial on 156 university students with varying degrees of somatic symptom distress who were allocated to either an eight-week, therapist guided ICBT (iSOMA) or to the WL, we examined pretreatment demographic characteristics, health-related variables (e.g., somatic symptom duration), mental distress (e.g., depression, anxiety) and cognitive-emotional factors (emotional reactivity, somatosensory amplification) as candidate moderators of the outcome, somatic symptom distress (assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-15) from pre- to posttreatment.

Results
Somatosensory amplification (assessed by the Somatosensory Amplification Scale, SSAS) moderated the outcome in favor of iSOMA (B = −0.17, SE = 0.08, p = 0.031), i.e., higher pretreatment somatosensory amplification was associated with better outcome in the active compared to the control intervention. No significant moderation effects were found among demographic characteristics, health-related variables, or mental distress.

Conclusion
Our findings suggest that an internet-delivered CBT for somatic symptom distress should be preferred over no active treatment particularly in individuals with moderate to high levels of somatosensory amplification, which as a next step should be tested against further treatments and in clinical populations.

Open access, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022399922000460

 

Is "somatosensory amplification" the new central sensitization? The stuff these people can make up with complete disregard for patients. Amazing what zero oversight and accountability can do.

 

It doesn't seem exactly the same as central sensitization. It's defined as "a tendency to perceive normal somatic and visceral sensations as being relatively intense, disturbing or noxious", and the term has been around since the 1980s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatosensory_amplification. Here's the scale they use to measure it: