Hwabyung is a Korean culture bound syndrome and translated as anger syndrome at DSM-IV. And it is caused by the suppression of anger and has characteristics of chest discomfort, burning up as physical symptoms, and mortification, chagrin as psychological symptoms. It is very common in the field of psychiatry in Korea with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).
Objective: 95 patients with MDD or Hwabyung, who visited the department of psychiatry in Korea University Medical Center or oriental medical hospital of Kyunghee Medical Center from May 2003 to August 2003, were selected for the study to compare between Major Depressive Disorder and Hwabyung.
Methods:The Structured Clinical Interview Schedule for DSM-IV (SCID) and Hwa-Byung Diagnostic Interview Schedule (HBDIS) were conducted for diagnosis. And Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) was carried out for comparison between MDD and Hwabyung.
Results:Among the 95 patients, MDD group was 23 persons, Hwabyung group was 36 persons, and MDD plus Hwabyung group was 36 persons and it occupied 37.9%. MDD plus Hwabyung group had higher scores than any other groups in the whole dimensions of SCL-90-R. Hwabyung group had higher scores than MDD group in somatization, anxiety, hostility, Global Severity Index(GSI) and positive symptom total (p<.05) of SCL-90-R, but two groups had no difference in obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal-sensitivity, depression, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, positive symptom distress index of SCL-90-R.
Conclusion:These result showed that Hwabyung is similar to MDD at the point of depression and psychoticism but more severe at somatization, anxiety and anger than MDD.
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