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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Functional disorder | 2/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_disorder | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:29:01.456201+00:00 | kb-cron |
The diagnosis of functional disorders is usually made in the healthcare setting most often by a doctor — this could be a primary care physician or family doctor, hospital physician or specialist in the area of psychosomatic medicine or a consultant-liaison psychiatrist. The primary care physician or family doctor will generally play an important role in coordinating treatment with a secondary care clinician if necessary. The diagnosis is essentially clinical, whereby the clinician undertakes a thorough medical and mental health history and physical examination. Diagnosis should be based on the nature of the presenting symptoms, and is a "rule in" as opposed to "rule out" diagnosis — this means it is based on the presence of positive symptoms and signs that follow a characteristic pattern. There is usually a process of clinical reasoning to reach this point and assessment might require several visits, ideally with the same doctor. In the clinical setting, there are no laboratory or imaging tests that can consistently be used to diagnose the conditions; however, as is the case with all diagnoses, often additional diagnostic tests (such as blood tests, or diagnostic imaging) will be undertaken to consider the presence of underlying disease. There are however diagnostic criteria that can be used to help a doctor assess whether an individual is likely to suffer from a particular functional syndrome. These are usually based on the presence or absence of characteristic clinical signs and symptoms. Self-report questionnaires may also be useful. There has been a tradition of a separate diagnostic classification systems for "somatic" and "mental" disorder classifications. Currently, the 11th version of the International Classification System of Diseases (ICD-11) has specific diagnostic criteria for certain disorders which would be considered by many clinicians to be functional somatic disorders, such as IBS or chronic widespread pain/fibromyalgia, and dissociative neurological symptom disorder. In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) the older term somatoform (DSM-IV) has been replaced by somatic symptom disorder, which is a disorder characterised by persistent somatic (physical) symptoms, and associated psychological problems to the degree that it interferes with daily functioning and causes distress. (APA, 2022). Bodily distress disorder is a related term in the ICD-11. Somatic symptom disorder and bodily distress disorder have significant overlap with functional disorders and are often assigned if someone would benefit from psychological therapies addressing psychological or behavioural factors which contribute to the persistence of symptoms. However, people with symptoms partly explained by structural disease (for example, cancer) may also meet the criteria for diagnosis of functional disorders, somatic symptom disorder and bodily distress disorder. It is not unusual for a functional disorder to coexist with another diagnosis (for example, functional seizures can coexist with epilepsy, or irritable bowel syndrome with inflammatory bowel disease. This is important to recognise as additional treatment approaches might be indicated in order that the patient achieves adequate relief from their symptoms. The diagnostic process is considered an important step in order for treatment to move forward successfully. When healthcare professionals are giving a diagnosis and carrying out treatment, it is important to communicate openly and honestly and not to fall into the trap of dualistic concepts – that is "either mental or physical" thinking; or attempt to "reattribute" symptoms to a predominantly psychosocial cause. It often important to recognise the need to cease unnecessary additional diagnostic testing if a clear diagnosis has been established .
== Causes == Explanatory models that support our understanding of functional disorders take into account the multiple factors involved in symptom development. A personalised, tailored approach is usually needed in order to consider the factors which relate to that individual's biomedical, psychological, social, and material environment. More recent functional neuroimaging studies have suggested malfunctioning of neural circuits involved in stress processing, emotional regulation, self-agency, interoception, and sensorimotor integration. A recent article in Scientific American proposed that important brain structures suspected in the pathophysiology of functional neurological disorder include increased activity of the amygdala and decreased activity within the right temporoparietal junction. Healthcare professionals might find it useful to consider three main categories of factors: predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating (maintaining) factors.
=== Predisposing factors === These are factors that make the person more vulnerable to the onset of a functional disorder; and include biological, psychological and social factors. Like all health conditions, some people are probably predisposed to develop functional disorders due to their genetic make-up. However, no single genes have been identified that are associated with functional disorders. Epigenetic mechanisms (mechanisms that affect interaction of genes with their environment) are likely to be important, and have been studied in relation to the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Other predisposing factors include current or prior somatic/physical illness or injury, and endocrine, immunological or microbial factors. Functional disorders are diagnosed more frequently in female patients. Medical bias possibly contributes to the sex differences in diagnosis: women are more likely to be diagnosed than men with a functional disorder by doctors. People with functional disorders also have higher rates of pre-existing mental and physical health conditions, including depression and anxiety disorders, Post-traumatic stress disorder, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. Personality style has been suggested as a risk factor in the development of functional disorders but the effect of any individual personality trait is variable and weak. Alexithymia has been widely studied in patients with functional disorders and is sometimes addressed as part of treatment. Migration, cultural and family understanding of illness, are also factors that influence the chance of an individual developing a functional disorder. Being exposed to illness in the family while growing up or having parents who are healthcare professionals are sometimes considered risk factors. Adverse childhood experiences and traumatic experiences of all kinds are known important risk factors. Newer hypotheses have suggested minority stressors may play a role in the development of functional disorders in marginalized communities.