Background Somatization is a phenomenon found across all medical specialities and in all types of care. There has been little in the way of systematic investigation of the phenomenon in older people. Objectives The objective was to establish whether treatment for psychiatric illness would be accompanied by a fall in somatic attributions. Method Patients' attributions of physical symptoms were studied in a consecutive group of older people with functional disorders (mostly depression) referred to an old age psychiatry service. Depression, anxiety, physical illness and attributional style were measured soon after referral and seven months later. Results 41 subjects were interviewed in the first leg. Anxiety was the chief association of abnormal attributional style. At follow up (n = 29) mean depression and anxiety scale scores and somatic attributions of symptoms had fallen significantly. Conclusion Abnormal focus on physical symptoms in depressed elderly patients may resolve with treatment. Copyright (C), 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.