What kind of change on the SSD-12 indicates treatment response?

• A. An increase in symptom frequency.
• B. No change in severity.
• C. Decrease in reported severity and impact over time.
• D. Improved laboratory results.

Answer: (C)

The main idea is that treatment response on the SSD-12 shows up as a drop in the patient’s own report of somatic symptom burden over time. The SSD-12 measures how severe the somatic symptoms feel and how much they impact daily life, so a decrease in reported severity and its functional impact indicates improvement with treatment. Worsening would be shown by increased symptom frequency, no change would mean little to no response, and improved lab results don’t capture the subjective distress these symptoms cause, which is what the SSD-12 tracks.