The day-to-day concurrence of bodily complaints and affect in patients with severe somatoform disorder.

Based on the concept of somatization, psychological distress can be experienced as symptoms of physical illness. This suggests a close-fitting intra-individual association between bodily complaints and mood in patients with somatoform disorder (SFD). The contemporaneous day-to-day complaints-mood association was investigated in patients with severe chronic SFD using an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) design.