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.

Mindfulness-based intervention leads to drop in blood pressure

Blood pressure is effectively lowered by mindfulness-based stress reduction for patients with borderline high blood pressure or "prehypertension." This finding is reported in the October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

16 Oct 2013

Poor sleep during pregnancy can disrupt immune processes and lead to lower birth weights

Poor sleep quality and quantity during pregnancy can disrupt normal immune processes and lead to lower birth weights and other complications, finds a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study published today in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Women with depression also are more likely than non-depressed women to suffer from disturbed sleep and to experience immune system disruption and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

18 Jul 2013

People suffering from PTSD have risk of developing type 2 diabetes

The presence of posttraumatic stress disorder is significantly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. This is the finding of scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the University Hospital Gieβen and Marburg who worked with data from the population-based KORA cohort study.

16 May 2013

Exposure to violent video games affects teens' heart rate responses

Teenagers who are highly exposed to violent video games—three or more hours per day—show blunted physical and psychological responses to playing a violent game, reports a study in the May issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

5 May 2013

High blood pressure linked to better quality of life in adolescents

Teenagers with high blood pressure appear to have better psychological adjustment and enjoy higher quality of life than those with normal blood pressure, suggests a study in the May issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

4 May 2013

Study: Stressful situations at work can have negative impact on cardiovascular system and metabolism

Stressful situations at work can have a negative impact on the cardiovascular system and the metabolism. Stress, which is transmitted by direct and indirect signaling pathways, leads to an inflammatory response in the body, which can trigger cardiovascular diseases, amongst others.

23 Apr 2013

Studies reveal sustained stress can lead to miscarriage, premature birth

Several studies have examined the impact of stress on a pregnancy - both chronic stress, such as workload, and acute stress associated with traumatic events like the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

9 Apr 2013

Report on Austrian national health care system approach to psychosomatic medicine

One of the last issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics has a report on the characteristics of a training program in psychosomatic medicine that places Austria in a top position in Europe.

21 Mar 2013

Burnt-out employees have increased risk of heart disease, researcher finds

Americans work longer hours, take fewer vacation days, and retire later than employees in other industrialized countries around the globe.

13 Mar 2013

Rocket attacks in Sderot, Israel significantly increase likelihood of miscarriages

Rocket attacks in Sderot, Israel significantly increase the likelihood of miscarriages, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers.

24 Feb 2013

Coming out might offer health benefits for lesbians, gays and bisexuals

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGBs) who are out to others have lower stress hormone levels and fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout, according to researchers at the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) at Louis H. Lafontaine Hospital, affiliated with the University of Montreal.

30 Jan 2013

New study offers hope for lonely older adults at increased risk of health problems

Always look on the bright side of life. Thanks to a new study from Concordia University, this catchy refrain offers a prescription for staying healthy during one's golden years.

26 Oct 2012

Researchers discover why people exposed to war more likely to develop chronic diseases

Wayne State University School of Medicine researchers may have discovered why people exposed to war are at increased risk to develop chronic problems like heart disease years later. And the culprit that links the two is surprising.

16 Oct 2012

Scientists use new method to easily investigate stress systems in babies

After waking up, the concentration of the stress hormone cortisol in saliva rises considerably; this is true not only for grown-ups but for babies as well. A research team from the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum and from Basel has reported this finding in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

29 Aug 2012

Acute stress modifies DNA methylation and activity of certain genes

Acute stress alters the methylation of the DNA and thus the activity of certain genes. This is reported by researchers at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum together with colleagues from Basel, Trier and London for the first time in the journal Translational Psychiatry. "The results provide evidence how stress could be related to a higher risk of mental or physical illness", says Prof. Dr. Gunther Meinlschmidt from the Clinic of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the LWL University Hospital of the RUB.

16 Aug 2012

Being a parent influences health in a positive way

There is no question that being a parent is, at times, challenging both physically and mentally. However knowledge of the actual affect parenthood has on health has been inconsistent at best, until now. New research led by Carnegie Mellon University's Sheldon Cohen and Rodlescia S. Sneed shows that being a parent influences health in a positive way. Published in Psychosomatic Medicine, the research provides the first evidence that, when exposed to a common cold virus, parents are 52 percent less likely to develop a cold than non-parents.

4 Jul 2012

Being a parent protects against cold: Study

Being a parent reduces your risk of catching a cold—possibly because of unknown "psychological or behavioral differences between parents and nonparents," according to a study in the July issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

3 Jul 2012

Ambulatory monitoring will become more and more part of patients' everyday lives

In the future, patients will become even more involved in the observation and monitoring of their own health or illnesses. For example, blood pressure can be checked 24 hours a day using a blood pressure cuff at home.

22 Jun 2012

Narcissistic men may have more physical problems in the long term: Study prediction

Narcissism is a condition which is characterized by excessive love of oneself. As a personality trait, narcissism is characterized by a sense of grandiosity, entitlement and low empathy. New research indicates that it is not only an irritating psychological glitch but it may be physically damaging for men. This does not appear to be the case for women, however, the study of 106 undergraduate students found.

24 Jan 2012

DFG announces establishment of twelve research units

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft has established nine new Research Units and three Clinical Research Units. The decision was made by the Joint Committee of Germany's central research funding organisation at its October meeting in Bonn.

22 Oct 2011