Somatic symptoms are the core features of many medical diseases, and they are used to evaluate the severity and course of illness. The 8-item Somatic Symptom Scale (SSS-8) was recently developed as a brief, patient-reported outcome measure of somatic symptom burden.
The Somatic Symptom Scale–8 (SSS-8)
| During the past 7 days, how much have you been bothered by any of the following problems? | Not at all | A little bit | Somewhat | Quite a bit | Very much |
| Stomach or bowel problems | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Back pain | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Pain in your arms, legs, or joints | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Headaches | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Chest pain or shortness of breath | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Dizziness | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Feeling tired or having low energy | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Trouble sleeping | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| SSS-8 Score |
Severity categories:
- 0-3 No to minimal
- 4-7 Low
- 8-11 Medium
- 12-15 High
- 16-32 Very high
References
- Gierk B, Kohlmann S, Kroenke K, Spangenberg L, Zenger M, Brähler E, Löwe B. The somatic symptom scale-8 (SSS-8): a brief measure of somatic symptom burden. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Mar;174(3):399-407. [Medline]
- Gierk B, Kohlmann S, Toussaint A, Wahl I, Brünahl CA, Murray AM, Löwe B. Assessing somatic symptom burden: a psychometric comparison of the patient health questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) and the somatic symptom scale-8 (SSS-8). J Psychosom Res. 2015 Apr;78(4):352-5 [Medline]
Created Aug 18, 2016.
