Psychological common factors in chronic diseases

The construct of “chronic physical diseases” (CPDs) encompasses a number of heterogeneous conditions that have persisting lifelong effects on the quality of life (QoL) and subjective well-being (Sprangers et al., 2000). According to epidemiological studies, CPDs are constantly increasing, not only in Western countries but also in developing/emerging countries, with certain prevalent differences regarding CPD type (Vos et al., 2016), raising questions on the multifactorial genesis of this phenomenon. The role of psychiatric disorders is, for example, well-known as comorbid conditions able to affect the course of CPD with a number of sequelae and complications (Daré et al., 2019).