Articles

Special series on “effects of board games on health education and promotion” board games as a promising tool for health promotion: a review of recent literature

Board games are played by moving game pieces in particular ways on special boards marked with patterns. To clarify the possible roles of board game use in psychosomatic medicine, the present review evaluated s...

Authors: Mutsuhiro Nakao

Changes in depression and anxiety through mindfulness group therapy in Japan: the role of mindfulness and self-compassion as possible mediators

Mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly being implemented worldwide for problems with depression and anxiety, and they have shown evidence of efficacy. However, few studies have examined the effects o...

Authors: Toru Takahashi, Fukiko Sugiyama, Tomoki Kikai, Issaku Kawashima, Siqing Guan, Mana Oguchi, Taro Uchida and Hiroaki Kumano

Bio-psychosocial factors of children and adolescents with internet gaming disorder: a systematic review

Previous large-scale studies suggest that internet gaming disorder (IGD) among children and adolescents has become an important public concern. Minors are known to be particularly susceptible to problematic in...

Authors: Nagisa Sugaya, Tomohiro Shirasaka, Kenzo Takahashi and Hideyuki Kanda

Measuring chronic stress exposure incorporating the active and healthy ageing (AHA) concept within the cross-sectional Bern cohort study 2014 (BeCS-14)

The aim of the study was to represent chronic stress exposure by a complex generic Active and Healthy (AHA) diagnostic assessment tool incorporating ICF. This is a single-centre, cross-sectional, observational...

Authors: Petra Stute, Marion Anker, Laura Hollenstein, Michael von Wolff, Norman Bitterlich, Florian Meissner and Dagmar Poethig

Current management strategies for the pain of elderly patients with burning mouth syndrome: a critical review

Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS), a chronic intraoral burning sensation or dysesthesia without clinically evident causes, is one of the most common medically unexplained oral symptoms/syndromes. Even though the cl...

Authors: Trang T. H. Tu, Miho Takenoshita, Hirofumi Matsuoka, Takeshi Watanabe, Takayuki Suga, Yuma Aota, Yoshihiro Abiko and Akira Toyofuku

Hearing laughter improves the recovery process of the autonomic nervous system after a stress-loading task: a randomized controlled trial

It has become necessary to develop mental health management methods that do not require specialized skills or tools to implement. With this in mind, we performed a subjective and objective investigation of the...

Authors: Yoshiyasu Fujiwara and Hitoshi Okamura

Dizziness in peri- and postmenopausal women is associated with anxiety: a cross-sectional study

Although dizziness is one of the most common symptoms of menopause, the underlying mechanism is not precisely known. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of, and the factors associated wit...

Authors: Masakazu Terauchi, Tamami Odai, Asuka Hirose, Kiyoko Kato, Mihoko Akiyoshi, Mikako Masuda, Reiko Tsunoda, Hiroaki Fushiki and Naoyuki Miyasaka

Factors associated with anxiety in family caregivers of children with chronic diseases

Currently, information on factors associated with anxiety in family caregivers of children with chronic diseases is unavailable, indicating a significant gap in the literature. Therefore, this study aims to id...

Authors: Filiberto Toledano-Toledano and José Moral de la Rubia

Exaggerated envy and guilt measured by economic games in Japanese women with anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa (AN) patients are assumed to express high levels of guilt and envy. Ultimatum game (UG) is a standard behavioral task that focuses on interpersonal behavior when splitting a sum of money betwe...

Authors: Masanori Isobe, Michiko Kawabata, Ema Murao, Tomomi Noda, Noriko Matsukawa, Ryosaku Kawada, Teruhisa Uwatoko, Toshiya Murai, Shun’ichi Noma and Hidehiko Takahashi

Influence of the requirement for abdominal pain in the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) under the Rome IV criteria using data from a large Japanese population-based internet survey

Rome III was revised to Rome IV in May 2016. One important change in the Rome IV criteria is that abdominal pain must be present for a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Under Rome III, in contrast, ...

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

Severe tinnitus in a patient with acquired deafness for over 50 years: a case report

There have been many reports on the treatment effect of cochlear implantation and hearing aids in the treatment of tinnitus in patients with severe hearing loss. However, as far as we are aware, there are no r...

Authors: Saeko Matsuzaki, Naoki Oishi and Kaoru Ogawa

Awareness of comfort immediately after a relaxation therapy session affects future quality of life and autonomic function: a prospective cohort study on the expectations of therapy

High expectations regarding therapy are reported to have positive effects on future therapeutic course and related behavior. Some individuals are aware of feelings of comfort immediately after a relaxation the...

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

Neural correlates of body comparison and weight estimation in weight-recovered anorexia nervosa: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

The neural mechanisms underlying body dissatisfaction and emotional problems evoked by social comparisons in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) are currently unclear. Here, we elucidate patterns of brain acti...

Authors: Naoki Kodama, Yoshiya Moriguchi, Aya Takeda, Motonari Maeda, Tetsuya Ando, Hiroe Kikuchi, Motoharu Gondo, Hiroaki Adachi and Gen Komaki

Factors related to the fatigue of relief workers in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: survey results 2.5 years after the disaster

After the Great East Japan Earthquake (March 11, 2011), the fatigue of relief workers became a major problem in affected areas. In the present study, we conducted a questionnaire survey 2.5 years post-disaster...

Authors: Noriko Setou, Takaki Fukumori, Kazuhisa Nakao and Masaharu Maeda

Association between chronological depressive changes and physical symptoms in postoperative pancreatic cancer patients

Pancreatic cancer (PC) has poorer prognosis and higher surgical invasiveness than many other cancers, with associated psychiatric symptoms including depression and anxiety. Perioperative depression has not bee...

Authors: Naoko Sato, Yoshimi Hasegawa, Asami Saito, Fuyuhiko Motoi, Kyohei Ariake, Yu Katayose, Kei Nakagawa, Kei Kawaguchi, Shin Fukudo, Michiaki Unno and Fumiko Sato

Impact of symptoms by gender and age in Japanese subjects with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C): a large population-based internet survey

Irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) is a representative psychosomatic disorder. Several pathophysiological factors have been linked to IBS symptoms such as the modulation of gastrointestinal mot...

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

L-carnosine as an enhancer to computerized cognitive behaviour therapy in Japanese workers, an unjustified claim

This letter comments on the conclusion drawn by Shirotsuki et al. (2017) in their article entitled “The effect for Japanese workers of a self-help computerized cognitive behaviour therapy program with a supple...

Authors: Geneviève Sauvé, Marie-France Bastien, Casandra Roy-Gelencser and Ghassan El-Baalbaki

A new milestone for BioPsychoSocial Medicine

Authors: Gen Komaki

The reliability and validity for Japanese type 2 diabetes patients of the Japanese version of the acceptance and action diabetes questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to determing which psychological traits of Japanese type 2 diabetes patients would provide reliability and validity to the Japanese version of the Acceptance and Action Diabetes Q...

Authors: Junichi Saito, Wataru Shoji and Hiroaki Kumano

Cohort survey of college students’ eating attitudes: interventions for depressive symptoms and stress coping were key factors for preventing bulimia in a subthreshold group

The aim of this study was to examine the necessity of early intervention for students with potential bulimia by investigating how the eating attitudes of college students change and examining the relation betw...

Authors: Yuri Okamoto, Yoshie Miyake, Ichie Nagasawa and Masaharu Yoshihara

Dysbiotic drift and biopsychosocial medicine: how the microbiome links personal, public and planetary health

The emerging concept of planetary health emphasizes that the health of human civilization is intricately connected to the health of natural systems within the Earth’s biosphere; here, we focus on the rapidly p...

Authors: Susan L. Prescott, Ganesa Wegienka, Alan C. Logan and David L. Katz

Association between uncooperativeness and the glucose metabolism of patients with chronic behavioral disorders after severe traumatic brain injury: a cross-sectional retrospective study

Patients with behavioral disorders following severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) often have disorders of consciousness that make expressing their emotional distress difficult. However, no standard method for ...

Authors: Tomohiro Yamaki, Kosuke Suzuki, Yusuke Sudo, Tomihisa Niitsu, Masahiko Okai, Nobuo Oka and Masaru Odaki

Changes in fatigue, autonomic functions, and blood biomarkers due to sitting isometric yoga in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

In a previous randomized controlled trial, we found that sitting isometric yoga improves fatigue in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) who are resistant to conventional therapy. The aim of this study...

Authors: Takakazu Oka, Tokusei Tanahashi, Nobuyuki Sudo, Battuvshin Lkhagvasuren and Yu Yamada

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

After publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error to Table 2.

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

Avoiding diagnostic errors in psychosomatic medicine: a case series study

Non-organic lesions or diseases of unknown origin are sometimes misdiagnosed as “psychogenic” disorders or “psychosomatic” diseases. For the quality of life and safety of patients, recent attention has focused...

Authors: Atsuko Koyama, Yoichi Ohtake, Kanae Yasuda, Kiyohiro Sakai, Ryo Sakamoto, Hiromichi Matsuoka, Hirokuni Okumi and Toshiko Yasuda

Findings of an effect of gender, but not handedness, on self-reported motion sickness propensity

Discrepant input from vestibular and visual systems may be involved in motion sickness; individual differences in the organization of these systems may therefore give rise to individual differences in propensi...

Authors: Ruth E. Propper, Frederick Bonato, Leanna Ward and Kenneth Sumner

History, aims and present structure of psychosomatic medicine in Germany

Combining its two traditions of integrated psychosomatics in internal medicine and focusing on psychotherapeutic/psychiatric methods in many clinical fields, German psychosomatic medicine has developed well ov...

Authors: Hans-Christian Deter, Johannes Kruse and Stephan Zipfel

Somatic manifestation of distress: clinical medicine, psychological, and public health perspectives

Authors: Mutsuhiro Nakao

Longitudinal course of eating disorders after transsexual treatment: a report of two cases

Several reports have been published on patients with gender dysphoria and eating disorders. However, there have been few reports on the longitudinal course of eating disorders after gender reassignment surgery...

Authors: Maiko Hiraide, Saki Harashima, Ryo Yoneda, Makoto Otani, Mami Kayano and Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi

Psycho-oncology in Australia: a descriptive review

Australia has a thriving Psycho-Oncology research and clinical community. In this article, the Australian health system in which Psycho-Oncology is embedded is described. Clinical Psycho-Oncology services are ...

Authors: P. Butow, H. Dhillon, J. Shaw and M. Price

Relationship between Alexithymia and latent trigger points in the upper Trapezius

Latent trigger points (LTrPs) can be activated by future events, leading to pain. Few studies have reported LTrP risk factors. It has been suggested that alexithymia is associated with myofascial pain and dimi...

Authors: Hideaki Hasuo, Kenji Kanbara, Tetsuya Abe, Mikihiko Fukunaga and Naoko Yunoki

Measuring healthy behaviours using the stages of change model: an investigation into the physical activity and nutrition behaviours of Australian miners

Obesity is one of the fastest growing modern day epidemics affecting preventable disease and premature deaths. Healthy lifestyle behaviours, such as physical activity and nutritional consumption, have been sho...

Authors: Sarah J. Lacey and Tamara D. Street

Development and challenges of palliative care in Indonesia: role of psychosomatic medicine

To summarize the current status of palliative care and the role of psychosomatic medicine in Indonesia.

Authors: Rudi Putranto, Endjad Mudjaddid, Hamzah Shatri, Mizanul Adli and Diah Martina

Relationships between catastrophic thought, bodily sensations and physical symptoms

Researchers have recently begun to seek cognitive explanations for physical symptoms with no obvious biological cause. Concepts such as somatization, somatosensory amplification, and somatosensory catastrophiz...

Authors: Hiroshi Seto and Mutsuhiro Nakao

Relationship between menstruation status and work conditions in Japan

Menstrual problems can significantly impact daily and work life. In reaction to a shrinking population, the Japanese government is encouraging more women to participate in the labor force. Actual success in ac...

Authors: Mariko Nishikitani, Mutsuhiro Nakao, Shinobu Tsurugano, Mariko Inoure and Eiji Yano

Impact of a new medical network system on the efficiency of treatment for eating disorders in Japan: a retrospective observational study

In Japan, patients generally have free access to any hospital or clinic. This could lead to reduced efficiency in the treatment for eating disorders (EDs) because there are only a limited number of doctors who...

Authors: Junko Moriya, Mami Kayano and Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi

The effect for Japanese workers of a self-help computerized cognitive behaviour therapy program with a supplement soft drink

Computerized cognitive behaviour therapy (CCBT) programs can provide a useful self-help approach to the treatment of psychological problems. Previous studies have shown that CCBT has moderate effects on depres...

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

A child with anorexia nervosa presenting with severe infection with cytopenia and hemophagocytosis: a case report

Patients with anorexia nervosa in the acute phase have physical complications, such as infectious disease. Although hemophagocytic syndrome due to infection is a rare complication in anorexia nervosa, early id...

Authors: Masao Suda, Shinichiro Nagamitsu, Masahiro Kinosita, Michiko Matsuoka, Shuichi Ozono, Yasushi Otsu, Yushiro Yamashita and Toyojiro Matsuishi

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