History and Usage
MUPS may be synonymous with somatization disorder or psychosomatic illness, where the cause or perception of symptoms is mental in origin, or may overlap these terms or be a "lower threshold variant" of them. Because several definitions of both somatization and MUPS exist, and the usage of both terms is inconsistent in medical literature and practice, MUPS is sometimes used interchangeably with somatization and functional somatic symptoms, although "somatised mental distress" and "somatisation disorders" (based on symptom counts) may not adequately account for most patients seen with MUPS.
A study of terms related to MUPS found that patients often object to the phrase "medically unexplained." The study revealed differences between patients' and doctors' opinions. For example, patients preferred terms using the word "functional" although doctors felt this word was potentially offensive.
When a cause for MUS is found, the symptom(s) are no longer medically unexplained. Some cases of ulcers and dyspepsia were considered MUS until bacterial infections were found to be their cause.
Read more about this topic: Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms
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