Incongruence between Clinicians' Assessment and Self-Reported Functioning Is Related to Psychopathology among Patients Diagnosed with Gastrointestinal Disorders

Abstract

In a previous exploratory study we observed no relevant differences in psychopathology, personality and functioning between inpatients diagnosed with gastrointestinal motor disorders (GMDs) or functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGDs)[1]. However, we observed higher levels of incongruence between clinicianassessed performance status and patients' self-reported levels of functioning among patients diagnosed with FGDs. Likewise, research in other medical conditions has shown incongruence between self-reported and clinician-reported or objective measures [2]. Furthermore, in a study on chronic depression, the authors found that discrepancies between patients' and physicians' assessments of medical comorbidities were related to higher levels of depressive symptomatology [3]. In this line, the aim of this study was to explore whether the inconsistencies between clinician-assessed and patient self-reported levels of functioning could be related to psychopathology among patients admitted for evaluation of gastrointestinal motility.