Five-year trajectories of symptom severity, physical and mental functioning in patients with persistent somatic symptoms: the PROSPECTS cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Knowledge about the long-term course and prognosis of persistent somatic symptoms (PSS) is important to improve clinical decision-making and guidance for patients with PSS. Therefore, we aimed to: (1) identify distinct 5-year trajectories of symptom severity, physical and mental functioning in adult patients with PSS and (2) explore patient characteristics associated with these trajectories.

Design

We used longitudinal data (seven measurements over a 5-year period) of the PROSPECTS study: a prospective cohort of adult patients with PSS. We applied Latent Class Growth Mixture Modelling to identify distinct trajectories for the three outcomes.

Setting and participants

Patients were recruited in general practices and specialised treatment facilities for PSS th

SUBMITTER: Barends H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11749328 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature