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.

Stressed IBS sufferers exhibit a distinctive microbial signature in the gut

People who suffer from stress-related Irritable Bowel Syndrome have a distinctive microbial signature in their gut.

5 Mar 2019

Better diet could alleviate symptoms of depression finds study

It has been speculated earlier that a healthy diet can raise the mood and reduce symptoms of mild depression. A new study proves the cause and effect of healthy diet and improved symptoms of depression.

5 Feb 2019

Healthy diet can reduce depression symptoms

An analysis of data from almost 46,000 people has found that weight loss, nutrient boosting and fat reduction diets can all reduce the symptoms of depression.

5 Feb 2019

Special intervention could help alleviate flashbacks in people with PTSD

A behavioral intervention procedure including the computer game Tetris could help people with post-traumatic stress disorder to alleviate involuntarily recurring visual memories of traumatic experiences.

8 Jan 2019

Researchers use 'EORTC' questionnaire to measure cancer patients' quality of life

Researchers and practitioners across the globe frequently use the 'EORTC' questionnaire to measure self-reported quality of life of cancer patients. For the first time, a group of researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have determined general population quality of life normative data for 15 individual countries.

7 Jan 2019

Adolescents who use cognitive reappraisal had better metabolic measures, shows study

Most teens get stressed out by their families from time to time, but whether they bottle those emotions up or put a positive spin on things may affect certain processes in the body, including blood pressure and how immune cells respond to bacterial invaders, according to Penn State researchers.

14 Dec 2018

Study finds sex-specific differences in mechanisms that drive stress-induced myocardial ischemia

Some patients with coronary artery disease have inadequate blood flow to the heart muscle during periods of mental/emotional stress.

27 Nov 2018

Early treatment does not reduce risk of heart disease, shows study

When is high blood pressure dangerous? Medical associations offer widely differing answers. In the USA, for example, patients are seen as hypertensive much sooner than in Germany.

27 Nov 2018

Response to daily stressors plays important role in cognitive health of older adults

Taking typical daily annoyances such as a long wait at the doctor's office or a traffic jam on the freeway in stride may help preserve brain health in older adults, while emotional reactions could contribute to declines in cognition, a new study from Oregon State University has found.

20 Nov 2018

Workplace bullying or violence linked to higher risk of cardiovascular problems

People who are bullied at work or experience violence at work are at higher risk of heart and brain blood vessel problems, including heart attacks and stroke, according to the largest prospective study to investigate the link, which is published in the European Heart Journal today (Monday).

18 Nov 2018

Grieving spouses with sleep problems have increased risk of chronic immune activation

Sleep disturbances have a strong negative impact on the immune system of people who have recently lost a spouse, reports a new study from Northwestern Medicine and Rice University.

9 Nov 2018

Family acceptance of LGBT individual's sexuality linked to lower stress

Ohio University Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Peggy Zoccola has determined that those who identify as LGBT and have come out to their family carry less stress hormones than those who have not come out, which may ultimately benefit their health.

24 Oct 2018

Giving targeted social support activates brain regions involved in parental care

Providing "targeted" social support to other people in need activates regions of the brain involved in parental care- which may help researchers understand the positive health effects of social ties, reports a study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published in the Lippincott Portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

30 Aug 2018

Researchers study effects of different mind-body practices on brain function

A variety of meditation-based programs have been developed in recent years to reduce stress and medical symptoms and to promote wellness.

14 Jun 2018

Brain activity, reactivity associated with depression and negative feelings in diabetics

For millions of Americans who are obese and living with diabetes or prediabetes, feelings of sadness, anger and anxiety are often part of daily life.

7 May 2018

Anxiety disorders can have protective effect after a heart attack

Fear protects people from danger. A team from the Technical University of Munich and Helmholtz Zentrum München has discovered that this applies even to pathological anxiety disorders. Patients who generally suffer from severe anxiety are likely to heed the symptoms of a heart attack earlier and seek medical treatment sooner, thus improving their chance of survival.

1 Mar 2018

Elderly women take longest time to arrive at the hospital after myocardial infarction, study reveals

It takes women aged over 65 the longest to arrive at the emergency department after the onset of myocardial infarction symptoms. As a consequence, valuable time is lost to reopen the occluded blood vessels and limit the damage to the myocardium.

9 Feb 2018

Specialized cellular structures may hold clues to health effects of psychological stress

How does psychological stress translate into physical health effects? A key piece of the puzzle may be found in specialized cellular structures known as mitochondria, according to a pair of articles in the January issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

2 Feb 2018

People with depressive symptoms before disaster may experience increase in inflammation

People who exhibit even a few depressive symptoms before a major life stressor, such as a disaster, may experience an increase in inflammation -- a major risk factor for heart disease and other negative health conditions -- after the event, according to new research from Rice University.

23 Oct 2017

Psychosocial factors play major role in well-being of older people, study says

"Ageing itself is not inevitably associated with a decline in mood and quality of life," says Prof. Karl-Heinz Ladwig, summarizing the results.

7 Jul 2017