Application of the Chinese Version of the Whiteley Index-7 for Detecting DSM-5 Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders

Chao-Ying Tu; Shih-Cheng Liao; Chao-Yu Liu; Tzu-Ting Chen; I-Ming Chen; Kuan-Fu Lin; Wei-Lieh Huang

doi:10.1016/j.psym.2015.12.010

Application of the Chinese Version of the Whiteley Index-7 for Detecting DSM-5 Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders

Psychosomatics. 2016 May-Jun;57(3):283-91. doi: 10.1016/j.psym.2015.12.010. Epub 2015 Dec 31.

Authors

Chao-Ying Tu¹, Shih-Cheng Liao², Chao-Yu Liu³, Tzu-Ting Chen³, I-Ming Chen⁴, Kuan-Fu Lin³, Wei-Lieh Huang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Yun-Lin Branch, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Yun-Lin Branch, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Taiwan, University, Taipei, Taiwan.

PMID: 27034149
DOI: 10.1016/j.psym.2015.12.010

Abstract

Background: The Whiteley Index-7 (WI-7) is frequently used for evaluating patients with suspected hypochondriasis. However, information about its use on somatic symptom and related disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) is still lacking. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Mandarin Chinese version of the WI-7 and its application to evaluation of somatic symptom and related disorders.

Methods: Participants completed the WI-7 and received diagnostic interview based on both Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) and DSM-5 criteria. Exploratory factor analysis was performed, and the test-retest reliability and the internal consistency of the WI-7 were assessed. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves were established, and the area under the curve was calculated to determine the cutoff point to distinguish DSM-IV somatoform disorders and DSM-5 somatic symptom and related disorders, respectively.

Results: A total of 471 subjects were recruited for this study. The exploratory factor analysis of the WI-7 identified a single factor. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the WI-7 were 0.829 and 0.836, respectively. The area under Receiver Operating Characteristic curve using WI-7 to distinguish DSM-5 somatic symptom and related disorders is 0.660, higher than that when applying to distinguish DSM-IV somatoform disorders. The sensitivity and specificity at an optimal cutoff point of 0/1 are 0.645 and 0.675, respectively.

Conclusion: The Mandarin Chinese version of the WI-7 is a potentially useful tool to detect individuals with DSM-5 somatic symptom and related disorders.

Keywords: Whiteley Index-7; hypochondriasis; somatic symptom and related disorders; somatoform disorders.

MeSH terms

Adult
Anxiety / psychology
Anxiety Disorders / psychology
Area Under Curve
Depression / psychology
Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Female
Humans
Hypochondriasis / diagnosis
Hypochondriasis / psychology
Male
Medically Unexplained Symptoms*
Middle Aged
Psychometrics
ROC Curve
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
Somatoform Disorders / diagnosis*
Somatoform Disorders / psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Translations