Psychology Department, University of Missouri-Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Psychol Health. 2013;28(8):849-61. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2012.762100. Epub 2013 Jan 24.
Chest pain can be a frightening experience that leads many to seek medical evaluation. The symptom results in costly health care utilisation. Over half of patients referred for cardiac evaluations of chest pain do not obtain definitive medical explanations for their symptoms; these cases are described as non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP). Some patients with NCCP are not reassured after being informed their chest pain is non-cardiac in origin and seek repeated medical evaluation. Co-morbid anxiety and mood disorders often coexist with NCCP and are associated with health care utilisation. The current study examined chest pain, general anxiety, interoceptive fear and health care utilisation in a sample of 196 chest pain patients near the time of cardiac evaluation (Time 1), and 70 of these patients one year later (Time 2). Results indicate that anxiety and interoceptive fear were significantly associated with health care utilisation at Time 1, and only interoceptive fear (at Time 1) predicted health care utilisation at Time 2. This study develops research in this area by examining the relation of anxiety and health care utilisation longitudinally in patients with NCCP.
胸痛可能是一种可怕的经历，导致许多人寻求医疗评估。这种症状导致了昂贵的医疗保健利用。超过一半因胸痛而接受心脏评估的患者无法对其症状获得明确的医学解释；这些病例被描述为非心源性胸痛（NCCP）。一些 NCCP 患者在被告知胸痛非源于心脏后仍感到不安，并寻求重复的医疗评估。共存的焦虑和情绪障碍常与 NCCP 并存，并与医疗保健利用相关。本研究在心脏评估时（时间 1）对 196 名胸痛患者和其中的 70 名患者（时间 2）进行了胸痛、一般焦虑、内脏恐惧和医疗保健利用的检测。结果表明，焦虑和内脏恐惧在时间 1 时与医疗保健利用显著相关，只有内脏恐惧（在时间 1）预测了时间 2 的医疗保健利用。本研究通过在 NCCP 患者中纵向检查焦虑与医疗保健利用的关系，进一步发展了该领域的研究。
