Prevalence of functional somatic syndromes and bodily distress syndrome in the Danish population: the DanFunD study.

Observed Findings

• 8.6% of Danish adults met criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), the most prevalent of the functional somatic syndromes studied.
• Overall, 16.3% of participants fulfilled criteria for at least one functional somatic syndrome, and 16.1% met criteria for bodily distress syndrome.
• Participants with these conditions reported significantly worse self-perceived health, daily activity limitations, and higher psychiatric comorbidity than those without.
• Overlap between IBS, fibromyalgia, and CFS was greater than expected by chance, suggesting shared mechanisms or risk factors.
• Associations with poor health outcomes and psychiatric comorbidity increased with the number of syndromes present in each individual.

Inferred Conclusions

• Functional somatic syndromes and bodily distress syndrome are highly prevalent in the adult general population and carry substantial morbidity.
• Psychiatric comorbidity is common in functional somatic syndromes and increases with multiple syndrome burden.
• The non-random overlap between IBS, fibromyalgia, and CFS suggests shared pathophysiological mechanisms or common risk factors.
• Multi-syndrome involvement and multi-organ bodily distress are associated with the greatest burden of poor health outcomes and activity limitation.

Remaining Questions