Psychosomatic Medicine News and Research

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Psychosomatic medicine (PM) is a newly licensed subspecialty in the field of psychiatry; it is also known as consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry. C-L psychiatry provides knowledge, practice, and instruction in the relation between mental and physical illness. This field is associated with services like diagnosis, therapeutics and research of illnesses in this area. Hence it connects psychiatry and other medical specialties, so that physicians and psychiatrists can discuss how to best manage patients with psychosomatic illness.

Physical exertion and emotional stress can trigger heart attacks in people with a history of heart disease

Authors Philip Strike and Andrew Steptoe of University College London point out that the triggers for heart attacks may be quite different from the factors that lead to development of coronary heart disease over the long term, such as cigarette smoking, lack of exercise, work stress, social isolation, anxiety and depression.

22 Mar 2005

Depression appears to be a major cause of insomnia in people with HIV

Patients in the last stages of HIV infection with full-blown AIDS and those who have suffered some kind of brain impairment as a result of the disease are also more likely to suffer from insomnia, the reviewers conclude in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

22 Mar 2005

Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome respond to placebos at a lower rate

Contrary to conventional wisdom, patients with chronic fatigue syndrome respond to placebos at a lower rate than people with many other illnesses, according to the first systematic review of the topic.

22 Mar 2005

Depression can double the risk of death or repeat heart disease in heart attack patients

Depression can double the risk of death or repeat heart disease in heart attack patients, according to two reviews of more than 40 studies that examine the link between depression and heart disease. The reviews are published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

5 Jan 2005

Daily meditation helps middle schoolers lower their blood pressure and heart rate

Students who used a simple concentration-based breathing mediation technique significantly reduced their resting and "active" blood pressure, according to Frank A. Treiber, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Medical College of Georgia. Their findings appear in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

4 Dec 2004

Adults with mental disorders have higher odds of being diagnosed with brain tumors and lung cancer

Adults with mental disorders have higher odds of being diagnosed with brain tumors and lung cancer and develop these cancers at younger ages than individuals without mental illness, according to a study published in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

12 Oct 2004

People with mental disorders develop cancer at younger ages

People with mental disorders develop cancer at younger ages and have higher odds of later being diagnosed with certain cancers, including tumors of the brain and lung, according to a new analysis of insurance claims.

4 Oct 2004

Terror fears raise women's level of protein linked to heart disease

Israeli women with chronic fears of terror attacks have higher levels of a blood protein that measures low-grade inflammation and may lead to heart disease, according to a new study.

23 Sep 2004

Spouses' emotions can effect psychological recovery after a heart attack or angioplasty

Psychological recovery after a heart attack or angioplasty may be delayed if patients’ spouses feel even more anxious or depressed than their ill partners, researchers say.

10 Sep 2004

Correlation between hate speech and suicide rates remains constant

The more negative a nickname or slur used to refer to an immigrant group, the more likely members of that group are to commit suicide, according to a study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

13 Aug 2004

Physical activity cuts risk of depression in children

Students who increase their physical activity during their middle-school years have fewer symptoms of depression, according to a new study.

1 Jul 2004

Depression in young women doubles risk of metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of medical disorders that affect a large number of people in a clustered fashion. In some studies, the prevalence in the USA is calculated as being up to 25% of the population.

29 Jun 2004

Reiner Center for Behavioral and Psychosomatic Medicine

Columbia University Medical Center has received a $5 million gift from Edward S. Reiner to establish the Reiner Center for Behavioral and Psychosomatic Medicine, the only center of its kind in New York City.

2 Jun 2004

Basketball enthusiasts are on a losing streak when it comes to sleep

Basketball enthusiasts are on a losing streak when it comes to sleep. A new poll shows that more than half (55%) of NBA fans watching the playoffs reported going to sleep later than normal on nights when they watched a game; of these, nearly 92% reported going to sleep an hour or more later than usual.(1)

24 May 2004