Frequency and correlates of somatic symptoms in patients of depression: a cross-sectional study at PIMS Islamabad

Background: Essentially crucial in early diagnosis and treatment of depression are the somatic symptoms, which can significantly decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with these symptoms and depression, as well as decrease the costs of investigation and treatment for the primary healthcare system. We conducted this study to determine the socio-demographic correlates of somatic symptoms in depression in a Pakistani population. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Psychiatry, PIMS Hospital, Islamabad, during the period April 2025 to August 2025. A total of 243 male and female patients aged 12–60 years diagnosed with depression were enrolled. The patients were evaluated for somatic symptoms by conducting an interview based on the PHQ-15 questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS v.26. The primary objective was to determine the prevalence of somatic symptom severity using PHQ-15 categories among patients with DSM-5–diagnosed depression. Secondary objectives were to examine associations between PHQ-15 severity and key sociodemographic predictors including age, gender, education, residence, and marital status. Results: Gender wise distribution of the patients revealed that 74 males (30.5%) and 169 females (69.5%). In terms of age distribution, the largest age group was 12–25 years ( n = 131, 53.9%), followed by 26–35 years ( n = 63, 25.9%). Among the symptoms that bothered the patients a lot, low energy was most frequently reported by 144 patients (59.3%), followed by troubled sleeping by 117 (48.1%). Painful sexual intercourse was least commonly reported by 9 patients (3.7%). High PHQ-15 score was recorded in 52 patients (39.7%), aged 12–25 years, 26 (41.3%) patients aged 26–35 years, 12 (48.0%) patients aged 36–45 years, and 17 (70.8%) patients aged 46–60 years, respectively ( P -value 0.011). Conclusion: Most frequently reported somatic symptoms significantly bothering the patients were low energy and trouble sleeping. Age was significantly associated with the degree of somatization, and patients with advanced age were more frequently having a high degree of somatization.