The authors studied 10 patients who had late-onset psychosis with somatic delusions and 2 comparison groups similar in age and education: 9 late-onset psychosis patients without somatic delusions and 10 normal control subjects. Demographic, clinical, and neuropsychological data were obtained. Brain magnetic resonance imaging was also done and compared. The patients with somatic delusions were somewhat more likely to be women, have been ill longer, and meet DSM-III-R criteria for delusional disorder, compared with late-onset psychotic patients without somatic delusions. Patients with somatic delusions also had lower scores on a full-scale IQ test, compared with the normal comparison subjects. The patients with somatic delusions rarely benefitted from and poorly complied with treatment with psychotropics. The study's limitations, such as small sample size and heterogeneity of diagnosis, as well as the possible clinical implications of these findings are also discussed.
