[A prospective study of psychosomatic reaction to hysterectomy]

Psychosomatic reaction to hysterectomy was prospectively studied by means of psychological tests and a questionnaire. One hundred and twenty patients who had simple hysterectomy were examined before and as long as one year after operation. The mean score for A-state, a state anxiety scale, was high before operation and rapidly declined postoperatively. SRQ-D and CMI, which represent depressive and neurotic states, respectively, showed rather high scores before and 2 weeks after operation. Mean scores in these psychological tests declined to a plateau within 6 months after operation, and there were less psychological and physiological symptoms and there was improved physical activity, showing that most patients can over come psychosomatic problems caused by hysterectomy. A close correlation was observed between the results of psychological tests and the number of psychological symptoms. Forty patients with a high SRQ-D score showed abnormality in other scales. Psychosomatic disorders associated with hysterectomy are characterized by various symptoms but mainly by a depressive state. High SRQ-D patients were divided into three subgroups: A) the SRQ-D score is constantly high, B) the SRQ-D is high for the first several weeks, and C) the score increased after discharge. Patients in each subgroup showed signs of a characteristic personality. These results show the presence of a different psychosomatic approach to the patients personally.