PURPOSE: Side effects consist of drug-specific and non-specific symptoms. Both components are based on bodily sensations that a @entity1 perceives after taking a drug and subsequently attributes to the drug. We suggest that somatosensory amplification (SSA) may explain a proportion of inter-individual differences in reports of side effects that cannot be accounted for by drug-specific safety profiles. This hypothesis was investigated in @entity101 @entity1 starting a new pharmacotherapy. METHOD: This longitudinal study included 50 @entity1 (66  % @entity1 , aged 55        14  years) with a diagnosis of primary @entity101 . @entity1 completed the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), started to take their new medication, and recorded side effects on a daily basis for 4  weeks. RESULTS: After controlling for age, gender, number of pills taken, and previous personal and family experiences with medication side effects in the regression analyses, SSAS scores remained a significant predictor of reported side effects over the entire study period (weeks 1 and 2: b   =   .621, p   <   .001; weeks 3 and 4: b   =   .493, p   =   .003). In a subsample comprising @entity1 taking the four most commonly used drug regimes, SSAS was a significant predictor of side effects, even when controlling for type of medication. CONCLUSION: In this sample of patients undergoing anti- @entity101 pharmacotherapy, higher SSA scores predicted increased reports of medication side effects. To account for this tendency and to improve compliance with medication regimes, this group may require special education about the nocebo phenomenon.

Somatosensory Amplification Is a Predictor of Self-Reported Side Effects in the Treatment of Primary XXXX : a Pilot Study.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'Patients', 'patients', 'person'] @entity101 :: ('MESH:D006973', 'Disease') :: ['hypertension', 'hypertensive']
@entity101 :: (MESH:D006973,Disease) :: ['Hypertension']
