Literature Review: Major Depression with Somatic Comorbidities
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mood disorder often accompanied by somatic symptoms and chronic physical illness. Complaints such as pain, fatigue, insomnia, headaches, and palpitations are often the primary reasons patients seek medical help, often resulting in a delayed diagnosis. This study aims to determine the relationship between major depression and somatic comorbidities based on published research. The method used was a literature review with a narrative review design. Articles were searched in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases using the keywords "major depressive disorder," "major depression," and "somatic comorbidities." A selection process based on inclusion and exclusion criteria yielded 12 articles published between 2016 and 2026. The review results indicate that major depression is significantly associated with somatic symptoms and chronic physical illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, heart failure, migraines, and metabolic disorders. This relationship is bidirectional, with physical illnesses increasing the risk of depression and depression worsening physical conditions. Management of major depression requires a holistic approach through pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and optimal management of physical illnesses.
References
Abed, A. R., & Hussein, I. M. (2025). Psychological and Behavioral changes in women and their relationship to age: A Comprehensive Review. Current Clinical and Medical Education, 3(07), 13-19.
Alqahtani, N. S. (2025). Risk assessment of somatic symptom disorder among patients attending a family medicine practice in an academic center. Psychiatric Quarterly, 96(3), 607-622. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-025-10132-y
Aqila, P., & Prasetya, E. C. (2025). Manifestasi Somatik pada Depresi Sedang: Laporan Kasus Perempuan Usia 42 Tahun. Jurnal Multidisiplin Indonesia, 4(9), 515-521.
Bertollo, A. G., Galvan, A. C. L., Dallagnol, C., Cortez, A. D., & Ignácio, Z. M. (2024). Early life stress and major depressive disorder—an update on molecular mechanisms and synaptic impairments. Molecular Neurobiology, 61(9), 6469-6483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-024-03983-2
Blanchflower, D. G., Bryson, A., & Bell, D. N. (2024). The declining mental health of the young in the UK (No. w32879). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Cai, J., Zhang, S., Wu, R., & Huang, J. (2024). Association between depression and diabetes mellitus and the impact of their comorbidity on mortality: Evidence from a nationally representative study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 354, 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.003
Dag, I., & Deger, V. B. (2025). The Importance of Psychological Well-Being for Women: Ways to Cope with Stress and Postnatal Depression. In Maternal and Child Health-A Holistic Approach to Equity, Nutrition, and Psychosocial Well-Being. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1009206
Daulay, E. Y., & Husada, M. S. (2023, December). A Case Report: Peripartum Onset of Major Depressive Disorder for Father. In 6th International Conference of Neuroscience, Neurology and Psychiatry Universitas Sumatera Utara (ICONAP 2023) (pp. 82-87). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-310-8_11
Dewi, L. N., & Hendrati, L. Y. (2022). Hubungan kualitas tidur dengan depresi pada pasien gagal ginjal kronis yang menjalani hemodialisis. Preventif: Jurnal Kesehatan Masyarakat, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.22487/Preventif.V13i2.373
Fanelli, G., Raschi, E., Hafez, G., Matura, S., Schiweck, C., Poluzzi, E., & Lunghi, C. (2025). The interface of depression and diabetes: treatment considerations. Translational Psychiatry, 15(1), 22. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-025-03234-5
Fugger, G., Dold, M., Bartova, L., Mitschek, M. M., Souery, D., Mendlewicz, J., ... & Kasper, S. (2020). Clinical correlates and outcome of major depressive disorder and comorbid migraine: A report of the European group for the study of resistant depression. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 23(9), 571-577. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyaa035
Ho, P. N. Y., Pham, C. M., Bui, M. X., Tran, N. A., Tran, N. T., Huynh, Q. H. N., ... & Nguyen, H. T. (2023). Somatic symptoms in major depressive disorder: a cross-sectional study in a mental health setting, Vietnam. MedPharmRes, 7(3), 42-48. https://doi.org/10.32895/UMP.MPR.7.3.6
Horsbøl, T. A., Hoffmann, S. H., Thorsted, A. B., Rosenkilde, S., Lehn, S. F., Kofoed‐Enevoldsen, A., ... & Thygesen, L. C. (2024). Diabetic complications and risk of depression and anxiety among adults with type 2 diabetes. Diabetic Medicine, 41(4), e15272. https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.15272
Hu, A., Yan, J., Xiao, T., Liu, D., Xiao, R., Deng, L., ... & Li, Y. (2025). Prevalence and risk factors for depression in somatic symptom disorder patients: a cross-sectional clinical study in China. BMC psychiatry, 25(1), 817. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12888-025-07258-5
Hulubă, I. P., Crecan-Suciu, B. D., Păunescu, R., & Micluția, I. V. (2025). The link between sex hormones and depression over a woman's lifespan. Biomedical reports, 22(4), 71. https://doi.org/10.3892/br.2025.1949
Hurtado, M. D., Saadedine, M., Kapoor, E., Shufelt, C. L., & Faubion, S. S. (2024). Weight gain in midlife women. Current obesity reports, 13(2), 352-363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-024-00555-2
Kusuma, C. T. (2020). Client centered therapy untuk subjek dewasa dengan gangguan depresi berat. Jurnal Psikologi Malahayati, 2(1).
Lallukka, T., Haaramo, P., Lahelma, E., & Rahkonen, O. (2019). Co-occurrence of depressive and somatic symptoms in the general population. BMC Psychiatry, 19(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2203-7
Latas, M., Stefanovski, B., Mihaljević-Peleš, A., Memić Serdarević, A., Pajević, I., Radulović, N. Z., ... & Jovandić, Ž. (2024). Diagnostic psychiatric and somatic comorbidity in patients with depression in the Western Balkan countries. Plos one, 19(1), e0295754. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295754
Löwe, B., Levenson, J., Depping, M., Hüsing, P., Kohlmann, S., Lehmann, M., ... & Weigel, A. (2022). Somatic symptom disorder: a scoping review on the empirical evidence of a new diagnosis. Psychological Medicine, 52(4), 632-648. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291721004177
Löwe, B., Toussaint, A., Rosmalen, J. G., Huang, W. L., Burton, C., Weigel, A., ... & Henningsen, P. (2024). Persistent physical symptoms: definition, genesis, and management. The Lancet, 403(10444), 2649-2662. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(24)00623-8
Marx, W., Penninx, B. W., Solmi, M., Furukawa, T. A., Firth, J., Carvalho, A. F., & Berk, M. (2023). Major depressive disorder. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 9(1), 44. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-023-00454-1
Mueller-Tasch, T., Loewe, B., Frankenstein, L., Frey, N., Haass, M., & Friederich, H. C. (2024). Somatic symptom profile in patients with chronic heart failure with and without depressive comorbidity. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1356497. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1356497
Muhariyono, M. F. A., & Fitriana, Q. A. Y. (2024, October). In-Depth Assessment of Individuals with Bipolar Affective Disorder. In International Conference on Psychology and Education (ICPE) (Vol. 3, No. 1). https://doi.org/10.26740/icpe.v3i1.3703
Munirah, I. (2024). Studi literatur: Penggunaan media sosial sebagai faktor risiko terjadinya depresi. Jurnal Medika Hutama, 5(2), 3842–3853.
Nuraeni, A., & Mirwanti, R. Hubungan cemas dan depresi pada pasien dengan penyakit jantung koroner (PJK).
Park, S. C., Kato, T. A., Lee, J. H., & Yu, S. H. (2025). Exploring the bidirectional relationship between depression and obesity. Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics, 54(1), 193-206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecl.2024.10.010
Shahini, N., Mirzadeh, M., & Lashkarbolouk, N. (2023). The comorbidity of somatic symptom and major depressive disorders in the times of COVID-19 lockdown in adolescence: A case-report study. SAGE Open Medical Case Reports, 11, 2050313X231179304. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050313X231179304
Steffen, A., Nübel, J., Jacobi, F., Bätzing, J., & Holstiege, J. (2020). Mental and somatic comorbidity of depression: A comprehensive cross-sectional analysis of 202 diagnosis groups using German nationwide ambulatory claims data. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1), 142. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12888-020-02546-8
Suman, S., Pravalika, J., Manjula, P., & Farooq, U. (2023). Gender and CVD-does it really matters?. Current problems in cardiology, 48(5), 101604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpcardiol.2023.101604
Susanti, E. A. P. (2025). Implementasi terapi kognitif-perilaku terhadap komorbiditas depresi dan diabetes mellitus: Sebuah tinjauan pustaka. Berkala Ilmiah Kedokteran dan Kesehatan Masyarakat, 3(1), 116–130. https://doi.org/10.20885/BIKKM.Vol3.Iss1.Art12
Tekintaş, N. S., Yanartaş, Ö., Durmuş, F. B., & Sayar, K. (2022). Functional somatic symptoms and their predictors in patients with major depressive disorder and fibromyalgia syndrome. Archives of Neuropsychiatry, 59(4), 274. https://doi.org/10.29399/npa.28057
Tomic, D., Shaw, J. E., & Magliano, D. J. (2022). The burden and risks of emerging complications of diabetes mellitus. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 18(9), 525-539. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-022-00690-7
Tonge, B. J., Brereton, A. V., & Bertelli, M. O. (2022). Somatic symptom and related disorders. In Textbook of psychiatry for intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder (pp. 609-623). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95720-3
Triolo, F., Vetrano, D. L., Sjöberg, L., Calderón-Larrañaga, A., Murri, M. B., Fratiglioni, L., & Dekhtyar, S. (2024). Somatic disease burden and depression risk in late life: a community-based study. Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 33, e6. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796024000064
Tummala, S., Chavda, H., Sontam, T. R., Gibbs, D. C., Avramis, I., & Rizkalla, J. M. (2026). The Impact of Major Depressive Disorder on Somatic and Psychiatric Outcomes Following Elective Single-Level Lumbar Fusion: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis. Global Spine Journal, 21925682261445029. https://doi.org/10.1177/21925682261445029
Yiming, S., Liao, Y., Li, Y., Zhou, W., Zhao, H., Chen, R., ... & Lu, C. (2025). Longitudinal association between somatic symptoms and suicidal ideation in adults with major depressive disorder. Frontiers in psychiatry, 16, 1634899. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1634899
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal La Medihealtico
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
