Outcomes of the first global multidisciplinary consensus meeting including persons living with obesity to standardize patient-reported outcome measurement in obesity treatment research.

Quality of life is a key outcome that is not rigorously measured in obesity treatment research due to the lack of standardization of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and PRO measures (PROMs). The S.Q.O.T. initiative was founded to Standardize Quality of life measurement in Obesity Treatment. A first face-to-face, international, multidisciplinary consensus meeting was conducted to identify the key PROs and preferred PROMs for obesity treatment research. It comprised of 35 people living with obesity (PLWO) and healthcare providers (HCPs). Formal presentations, nominal group techniques, and modified Delphi exercises were used to develop consensus-based recommendations. The following eight PROs were considered important: self-esteem, physical health/functioning, mental/psychological health, social health, eating, stigma, body image, and excess skin. Self-esteem was considered the most important PRO, particularly for PLWO, while physical health was perceived to be the most important among HCPs. For each PRO, one or more PROMs were selected, except for stigma. This consensus meeting was a first step toward standardizing PROs (what to measure) and PROMs (how to measure) in obesity treatment research. It provides an overview of the key PROs and a first selection of the PROMs that can be used to evaluate these PROs.

Somatoform disorders in children and adolescents: a comparison with other internalizing disorders.

A chart review of children and adolescents attending a university-based psychiatric outpatient clinic over a 1-year period was done. Nineteen consecutive patients with somatoform disorders were compared with 26 consecutive patients with other internalizing disorders, i.e., depressive disorders and/or anxiety disorders without disruptive behavior problems. Mean age, sex distribution, cognitive level, and duration of symptoms were not different between groups. Self- and parent-reported levels of psychopathology, including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and deliberate self-harm, differentiated between somatoform disorders and other internalizing disorders at the group level. Levels of adaptive functioning and functional somatic symptoms did not. High levels of medically unexplained symptoms should prompt the clinician for assessing depressive symptoms and anxiety. Findings also support the use of DSM-IV criteria in pediatric patients to differentiate somatoform disorders from other internalizing disorders.