Articles

Brief internet-based cognitive behavior therapy program with a supplement drink improved anxiety and somatic symptoms in Japanese workers

Self-help cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a useful approach for the treatment of psychological problems. Recent research on the effectiveness of self-help internet-based CBT (ICBT) indicates that the parad...

Authors: Kentaro Shirotsuki, Yuji Nonaka, Jiro Takano, Keiichi Abe, So-ichiro Adachi, Shohei Adachi and Mutsuhiro Nakao

Purging behaviors relate to impaired subjective sleep quality in female patients with anorexia nervosa: a prospective observational study

We examined how purging behaviors relate to subjective sleep quality and sleep patterns and how symptoms of disordered eating behaviors relate to global sleep quality in female patients with anorexia nervosa (...

Authors: Tokusei Tanahashi, Keisuke Kawai, Keita Tatsushima, Chihiro Saeki, Kunie Wakabayashi, Naho Tamura, Tetsuya Ando and Toshio Ishikawa

Clinical features of atypical odontalgia; three cases and literature reviews

Atypical odontalgia (AO) is a disease characterized by continuous pain affecting the teeth or tooth sockets after extraction in the absence of any identifiable cause on clinical or radiographic examination. An...

Authors: Miho Takenoshita, Anna Miura, Yukiko Shinohara, Rou Mikuzuki, Shiori Sugawara, Trang Thi Huyen Tu, Kaoru Kawasaki, Takeru Kyuragi, Yojiro Umezaki and Akira Toyofuku

Psychological health and religious coping of Ghanaian women with infertility

Infertility has been shown to have considerable psychological effects on the well-being of couples, especially women. Religion has been found as a resource used by infertile women to cope with their distress. ...

Authors: Mabel Oti-Boadi and Kwaku Oppong Asante

Association between the blood concentrations of ammonia and carnitine/amino acid of schizophrenic patients treated with valproic acid

Administration of valproic acid (VPA) is complicated with approximately 0.9% of patients developing hyperammonemia, but the pathogenesis of this adverse effect remains to be clarified. The aim of the present s...

Authors: Masazumi Ando, Hideaki Amayasu, Takahiro Itai and Hisahiro Yoshida

The relationship between salivary amylase and the physical and psychological changes elicited by continuation of autogenic training in patients with functional somatic syndrome

The aim of this study was to clarify the changes in biological measures during autogenic training (AT) sessions and the relationship between these biological measures and the changes in physical and psychologi...

Authors: Tadashi Kiba, Tetsuya Abe, Kenji Kanbara, Fumie Kato, Sadanobu Kawashima, Yukie Saka, Kazumi Yamamoto, Yasuyuki Mizuno, Junji Nishiyama and Mikihiko Fukunaga

Clinical features of outpatients with somatization symptoms treated at a Japanese psychosomatic medicine clinic

Somatization is produced due to the summation of psychological factors, irrespective of the presence or absence of physical factors. A group of diseases with severe pain and other disorders exhibit so-called M...

Authors: Yuzo Nakamura, Takeaki Takeuchi, Kazuaki Hashimoto and Masahiro Hashizume

Cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosomatic problems in dental settings

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been applied for various problems, including psychiatric diseases such as depression and anxiety, and for physical symptoms such as pain. It has also been applied for den...

Authors: Hirofumi Matsuoka, Itsuo Chiba, Yuji Sakano, Akira Toyofuku and Yoshihiro Abiko

Predictors of successful long-term weight loss maintenance: a two-year follow-up

Weight regain is a common problem following weight loss intervention, with most people who seek treatment for obesity able to lose weight, but few able to sustain the changes in behavior required to prevent su...

Authors: Ryoko Sawamoto, Takehiro Nozaki, Tomoe Nishihara, Tomokazu Furukawa, Tomokazu Hata, Gen Komaki and Nobuyuki Sudo

Pain threshold reflects psychological traits in patients with chronic pain: a cross-sectional study

Chronic pain enhances sensory sensitivity and induces the biased development of psychological traits such as depression and pain catastrophizing, leading to the formation of heterogeneous conditions. Fluctuati...

Authors: Fumie Kato, Tetsuya Abe, Kenji Kanbara, Ikumi Ban, Tadashi Kiba, Sadanobu Kawashima, Yukie Saka, Yasuyuki Mizuno and Mikihiko Fukunaga

Psycho-oncology in Korea: past, present and future

Psycho-oncology in Korea was introduced among the circle of consultation-liaison psychiatrists, in the 1990s. For almost 25 years, the field has been developing at a steady pace as the psychosocial needs of pa...

Authors: Hyun Jeong Lee, Kwang-Min Lee, Dooyoung Jung, Eun-Jung Shim, Bong-Jin Hahm and Jong-Heun Kim

A case report of brief psychotic disorder with catalepsy associated with sequential life-threatening events in a patient with advanced cancer

Cancer is commonly perceived as life-threatening and universally stressful; however, brief psychotic disorder, which occurs in response to extremely stressful events, has not been reported.

Authors: Mayumi Ishida, Satoshi Kawada and Hideki Onishi

The American Psychosomatic Society – integrating mind, brain, body and social context in medicine since 1942

The American Psychosomatic Society is one of the oldest and probably the most influential scientific society in psychosomatic/biopsychosocial research worldwide. The current article delineates the historical d...

Authors: Christoph Herrmann-Lingen

Psychometric properties of the eating disorder examination-questionnaire in Japanese adolescents

Although the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire version 6.0 (EDE-Q) is one of the most widely used questionnaires for eating disorders in Western countries, no research has addressed the psychometric pr...

Authors: Tomoyo Mitsui, Toshiyuki Yoshida and Gen Komaki

Randomized, placebo-controlled, phase IV pilot study of ramosetron to evaluate the co-primary end points in male patients with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea

Global assessment allows patients to assess improvement in multiple irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms. However, it was deemed important to assess “clinically meaningful improvements, focusing on the pati...

Authors: Motoko Ida, Akito Nishida, Hiraku Akiho, Yoshihiro Nakashima, Kei Matsueda and Shin Fukudo

Evaluation of the irritable bowel syndrome severity index in Japanese male patients with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea

Previous studies have indicated that ramosetron, a 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 receptor antagonist, achieves global improvement in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms in male patients with IBS with diarrhea (IBS...

Authors: Motoko Ida, Akito Nishida, Hiraku Akiho, Yoshihiro Nakashima, Kei Matsueda and Shin Fukudo

Development of a recumbent isometric yoga program for patients with severe chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: A pilot study to assess feasibility and efficacy

Our previous randomized controlled trial demonstrated that isometric yoga in a sitting position reduces fatigue in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). However, some patie...

Authors: Takakazu Oka, Hisako Wakita and Keishin Kimura

Job crafting, work engagement, and psychological distress among Japanese employees: a cross-sectional study

Job crafting, an employee-initiated job design/redesign, has become important for employees’ well-being. However, most studies on the relationship between job crafting and employees’ well-being have been condu...

Authors: Asuka Sakuraya, Akihito Shimazu, Hisashi Eguchi, Kimika Kamiyama, Yujiro Hara, Katsuyuki Namba and Norito Kawakami

Assessing the validity and reliability of the Malagasy version of Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP): a cross-sectional study

Evaluating health needs includes measures of the impact of state of health on the quality of life. This entails evaluating the psychosocial aspects of health. To achieve this, several tools for measuring the q...

Authors: Noeline Razanamihaja and Eva Ranivoharilanto

Tolerable pain reduces gastric fundal accommodation and gastric motility in healthy subjects: a crossover ultrasonographic study

Obstacles to pain management include patients’ reluctance to inform healthcare provides about their pain, and differences in the pain management aims between patients and healthcare providers. The objective of...

Authors: Hideaki Hasuo, Hiroaki Kusunoki, Kenji Kanbara, Tetsuya Abe, Naoko Yunoki, Ken Haruma and Mikihiko Fukunaga

The European Network on Psychosomatic Medicine (ENPM) – history and future directions

Within national and international societies of psychosomatic medicine the idea has emerged of bringing together and coordinating psychosomatic, behavioural, psychological and medical actions with common intere...

Authors: Hans-Christian Deter, Kristina Orth-Gomér, Bohdan Wasilewski and Ramiro Verissimo

Current state and future prospects for psychosomatic medicine in Japan

In this article, we describe the history and current state of psychosomatic medicine (PSM) in Japan and propose measures that could be considered based on our view of the future prospects of PSM in Japan. The ...

Authors: Masato Murakami and Yoshihide Nakai

History, concepts and aims of internationally active societies in psychosomatic and behavioural medicine

Authors: Hans-Christian Deter

Seasonality in mood and behaviours of Japanese residents in high-latitude regions: transnational cross-sectional study

Daylight hours in high-latitude regions tend to be longer than those in Japan in summer, and shorter than those in Japan in winter. For example, daylight hours in London in winter are one-third those of Tokyo....

Authors: Yumiko Kurata, Shuhei Izawa and Shinobu Nomura

A series of patients with purging type anorexia nervosa who do “tube vomiting”

It is important for clinicians to assess their patients’ purging behavior. Various methods of purging, such as self-induced vomiting are well-known. Because patients do not always report their purging behavior...

Authors: Takeshi Horie, Saki Harashima, Ryo Yoneda, Maiko Hiraide, Shuji Inada, Makoto Otani and Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi

Risk assessment for job burnout with a mobile health web application using questionnaire data: a proof of concept study

Job burnout has become a rampant epidemic in working societies, causing high productivity loss and healthcare costs. An easy accessible tool to detect clinically relevant risk may bear the potential to timely ...

Authors: Roland von Känel, Marc van Nuffel and Walther J. Fuchs

Factors associated with pain level in non-cardiac chest pain patients with comorbid panic disorder

Panic disorder (PD) is highly prevalent in patients with non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP). This study aims to explore the role of psychological factors (PD intensity, anxiety sensitivity, heart-related fear, atte...

Authors: Guillaume Foldes-Busque, Stéphanie Hamel, Geneviève Belleville, Richard Fleet, Julien Poitras, Jean-Marc Chauny, Alain Vadeboncoeur, Kim L. Lavoie and André Marchand

What inhibits working women with mental disorders from returning to their workplace?-A study of systematic re-employment support in a medical institution

It has been customary for working women in Japan to retire when they marry and to devote themselves to household work as well as having children. However, according to a report published by the Ministry of Int...

Authors: Karin Hayashi, Yoichi Taira, Takamitsu Maeda, Yumie Matsuda, Yuki Kato, Kozue Hashi, Nobuo Kuroki and Shuichi Katsuragawa

A questionnaire survey regarding the support needed by Yogo teachers to take care of students suspected of having eating disorders (second report)

The lowering of the age of onset and chronicity have been key problems related to eating disorders (EDs). As the proportion of teens in the estimated onset ages has increased, it has become important to detect...

Authors: Kaoru Seike, Michiko Nakazato, Hisashi Hanazawa, Toshiyuki Ohtani, Tomihisa Niitsu, Shin-ichi Ishikawa, Atsuko Ayabe, Ryoko Otani, Kentaro Kawabe, Fumie Horiuchi, Shizuo Takamiya and Ryoichi Sakuta

Self-controllable prodromal symptoms of syncope attributed to carotid sinus syndrome during the end stage of cancer: a case report

Carotid sinus syndrome (CSS) can cause prodromal symptoms of syncope such as dizziness and nausea. Patients with end-stage cancer lose self-efficacy associated with reduced activities of daily life (ADL). Here...

Authors: Hideaki Hasuo, Kenji Kanbara, Hiroko Sakuma, Rie Matsumori and Mikihiko Fukunaga

Erratum to: Prevalence and related factors of common mental disorders during pregnancy in Japan: a cross-sectional study

Authors: Kentaro Usuda, Daisuke Nishi, Miyuki Makino, Hisateru Tachimori, Yutaka Matsuoka, Yo Sano, Takako Konishi and Tadashi Takeshima

The International College of Psychosomatic Medicine – a personal history

This is a history of the International College of Psychosomatic Medicine from 1970 to the present.

Authors: Jon Streltzer

Inhibition of emotional needs and emotional wellbeing predict disease progression of chronic hepatitis C patients: an 8-year prospective study

The role of psycosocial factors in the disease progression of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to prospectively evaluate the prognostic value of behavioral p...

Authors: Ryoko Sawamoto, Jun Nagano, Eiji Kajiwara, Junko Sonoda, Tetsuya Hiramoto and Nobuyuki Sudo

Course of self-reported symptoms of 342 outpatients receiving medium- versus long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy

The course of self-reported symptoms during medium- versus long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy has rarely been documented for outpatient settings. This observational study describes routine practice of ambul...

Authors: S. Nolte, L. Erdur, H. F. Fischer, M. Rose and B. Palmowski

Factors relating to the mental health of women who were pregnant at the time of the Great East Japan earthquake: analysis from month 10 to month 48 after the earthquake

The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011. The epicenter was off the coast of Miyagi prefecture, and the magnitude of the earthquake was 9.0 with a maximum seismic intensity of 7....

Authors: Kineko Sato, Maki Oikawa, Mai Hiwatashi, Mari Sato and Nobuko Oyamada

Factors associated with caregiving burden and mental health conditions in caregivers of patients with anorexia nervosa in Japan

There are no studies about the caregiving burdens in families of patients with eating disorders in Japan, and only limited studies on the role of caregivers’ stress coping, social support, and mental health. T...

Authors: Chisato Ohara, Gen Komaki, Zentaro Yamagata, Mari Hotta, Toshiko Kamo and Tetuya Ando

Oral cenesthopathy

Cenesthopathy is characterized by abnormal and strange bodily sensations and is classified as a ‘delusional disorder, somatic type’ or ‘somatoform disorder’ according to the DSM 5. The oral cavity is one of th...

Authors: Yojiro Umezaki, Anna Miura, Motoko Watanabe, Miho Takenoshita, Akihito Uezato, Akira Toriihara, Toru Nishikawa and Akira Toyofuku

Abdominal bloating is the most bothersome symptom in irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C): a large population-based Internet survey in Japan

Abdominal bloating is a common symptom in patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). However, it is not included among the required items in the Rome III diagnostic criteria for IBS. Lit...

Authors: Motoyori Kanazawa, Hiroto Miwa, Ayako Nakagawa, Masanori Kosako, Hiraku Akiho and Shin Fukudo

Giving social support to outside family may be a desirable buffer against depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults: Japan gerontological evaluation study

Depression is the leading cause of impaired quality of life and burden upon societies. Social supports can buffer against depressive symptoms effectively. The aim of this study is to determine the type of soci...

Authors: Hirohito Tsuboi, Hiroshi Hirai and Katsunori Kondo

Prevalence and related factors of common mental disorders during pregnancy in Japan: a cross-sectional study

Common mental disorders (CMD) during pregnancy can have a clearly harmful influence on both mothers and children. Some studies have reported related factors for mental disorders, such as region-specific backgr...

Authors: Kentaro Usuda, Daisuke Nishi, Miyuki Makino, Hisateru Tachimori, Yutaka Matsuoka, Yo Sano, Takako Konishi and Tadashi Takeshima

Links among emotional awareness, somatic awareness and autonomic homeostatic processing

Emotional awareness and somatic interoceptive awareness are essential processes for human psychosomatic health. A typical trait of lacking emotional awareness related to psychosomatic symptoms is alexithymia. ...

Authors: Kenji Kanbara and Mikihiko Fukunaga

A Questionnaire Survey of the Type of Support Required by Yogo Teachers to Effectively Manage Students Suspected of Having an Eating Disorder

Many studies have focused on the decreasing age of onset of eating disorders (EDs). Because school-age children with EDs are likely to suffer worse physical effects than adults, early detection and appropriate...

Authors: Kaoru Seike, Hisashi Hanazawa, Toshiyuki Ohtani, Shizuo Takamiya, Ryoichi Sakuta and Michiko Nakazato

Psychosomatic problems in dentistry

Many dental patients complain of oral symptoms after dental treatment, such as chronic pain or occlusal discomfort, for which the cause remains undetermined. These symptoms are often thought to be mental or em...

Authors: Akira Toyofuku

The prevalence and risk factors of school absenteeism due to premenstrual disorders in Japanese high school students—a school-based cross-sectional study

Premenstrual disorders such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) interfere with the daily lives of adolescents. The causes of PMS and PMDD are unknown, but lifestyle habits...

Authors: Mari Tadakawa, Takashi Takeda, Yasutake Monma, Shoko Koga and Nobuo Yaegashi

Depressive symptoms are associated with oxidative stress in middle-aged women: a cross-sectional study

Oxidative stress is known to be a factor in various diseases. In this study, we investigated whether physical and psychological symptoms of menopause, cardiovascular parameters, body composition, and lifestyle...

Authors: Asuka Hirose, Masakazu Terauchi, Mihoko Akiyoshi, Yoko Owa, Kiyoko Kato and Toshiro Kubota

Aromatic effects of a Japanese citrus fruit—yuzu (Citrus junos Sieb. ex Tanaka)—on psychoemotional states and autonomic nervous system activity during the menstrual cycle: a single-blind randomized controlled crossover study

Yuzu (Citrus junos Sieb. ex Tanaka), a yellow-golden colored citrus fruit, has traditionally been used to promote psychosomatic health in Japan. While the yuzu produces a distinctive, pleasing aroma of citrus and...

Authors: Tamaki Matsumoto, Tetsuya Kimura and Tatsuya Hayashi

Gender differences in cancer-related distress in Japan: a retrospective observation study

Cancer care is currently the most important medical issue in Japan. Total pain of cancer patients consists of a combination of four factors: physical, psychological, social distress, and spiritual pain. Previo...

Authors: Atsuko Koyama, Hiromichi Matsuoka, Yoichi Ohtake, Chihiro Makimura, Kiyohiro Sakai, Ryo Sakamoto and Masahiko Murata

Erratum to: Reduced health-related quality of life among Japanese college students with visual impairment

Authors: Masaki Iguchi

How can psychosomatic physicians contribute to behavioral medicine?

In Japan, there is a unique clinical department, “Psychosomatic Medicine”, while there is not a department of behavioral science or behavioral medicine in medical schools. Although only eight medical schools h...

Authors: Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi

The meaning of behavioral medicine in the public health field—a review of documents related to medical education in Japan

International standardization of medical education requires Japanese medical schools to restructure their curricula to include “behavioral science.” Two influential documents for Japanese medical education, th...

Authors: Shigeru Inoue