Background

Following German reunification, physical health indicators in the formerly separated states (German Democratic Republic- East/ Federal Republic of Germany-West) have converged. However, it remains unclear how these societal changes have impacted somatic complaints, a major indicator of physical and mental health. Therefore, we investigated how somatic symptom reporting in men and women evolved regarding residency.

Methods

We administered cross-sectional surveys representative of the German population with comparable sample size in 1994 (N = 3047), 2001 (N = 2050), 2013 (N = 2508) and 2019 (N = 2531) following random route procedure. Men and women aged 14–99 reported demographics and filled the Gießen Complaint List, a standardized questionnaire, to assess major physical symptoms.

Results

Residency in the Eastern states was a determinant of higher symptom load in 2001 (β = 0.11, SE = 0.02, [95% CI = 0.07 to 0.15], p < .001) where symptom reporting has been consistently higher compared to the West from 1994 through 2013. However, in 2019, the pattern reversed and residency in the East was associated with lower symptom load (β = −0.15, SE =0.02, [95% CI = −0.19 to −0.11], p < .001). Predictors of high symptom load among all surveys were higher age, female sex, and low household income.

Conclusions

Symptom reporting did not converge, but reversed in 2019, with a higher symptom load in the Western states. This finding is particularly intriguing since other determinants, e.g., socioeconomic factors have converged, but have remained unfavorable in the East.

背景

德国统一后，以前分离的州（德意志民主共和国-东/德意志联邦共和国-西）的身体健康指标趋于一致。然而，尚不清楚这些社会变化如何影响躯体不适，这是身心健康的主要指标。因此，我们调查了男性和女性的躯体症状报告在居住权方面是如何演变的。

方法

我们在 1994 年（ N  = 3047）、2001 年（N  = 2050）、2013 年（N  = 2508）和 2019 年（N  = 2531）按照随机路径程序进行了具有可比样本量的德国人口横断面调查。14-99 岁的男性和女性报告了人口统计数据并填写了 Gießen 投诉清单，这是一份标准化问卷，以评估主要身体症状。

结果

居住在东部各州是 2001 年较高症状负荷的决定因素（β = 0.11，SE = 0.02，[95% CI = 0.07 至 0.15]，p  < .001），与西部相比，症状报告一直较高1994 年至 2013 年。然而，在 2019 年，这种模式发生了逆转，居住在东部与较低的症状负荷相关（β = -0.15，SE =0.02，[95% CI = -0.19 至 -0.11]，p  < .001） . 在所有调查中，高症状负荷的预测因素是较高的年龄、女性和较低的家庭收入。

结论

症状报告并未趋同，但在 2019 年发生逆转，西部各州的症状负荷较高。这一发现特别有趣，因为其他决定因素，例如社会经济因素已经趋同，但在东方仍然不利。