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.

Study finds link between type 2 diabetes and reduction of certain cognitive abilities

Type 2 diabetes is associated with worse performance on cognitive tests measuring abilities involved in the control of emotions, behaviours and thought, says a new study from the University of Waterloo.

15 Feb 2015

Loyola psychiatrist achieves Distinguished Life Fellow status in the American Psychiatric Association

Loyola University Medical Center psychiatrist Murali Rao, MD, has achieved Distinguished Life Fellow status in the American Psychiatric Association, the highest honor the profession can bestow.

4 Feb 2015

Loyola's Murali Rao achieves Distinguished Life Fellow status

Loyola University Medical Center psychiatrist Murali Rao, MD, has achieved Distinguished Life Fellow status in the American Psychiatric Association, the highest honor the profession can bestow.

4 Feb 2015

OSU researchers review studies on effectiveness of mindfulness-based programs for weight loss

If dieting is on your New Year agenda, it might pay to be mindful of a study suggesting there is little hard evidence that mindfulness leads to weight loss.

12 Dec 2014

Parental understanding regarding daily experiences may affect adolescent health, well-being

Adolescents whose parents better understand their daily experiences have better psychological adjustment, suggests a study in the October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

16 Oct 2014

Researchers examine how telephone-based coaching could help COPD patients

Coaching patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to manage stress, practice relaxation and participate in light exercise can boost a patient's quality of life and can even improve physical symptoms, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

26 Sep 2014

Brain stimulation increases cravings for high-calorie foods, shows study

Magnetic stimulation of a brain area involved in "executive function" affects cravings for and consumption of calorie-dense snack foods, reports a study in the September issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

16 Sep 2014

Data provides information on rising number of clinics that treat psychosomatic problems

Germany economy is a leading force in the world and a model that calls for imitation. A paper published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics provides information on the rising number of clinics that treat burn-out and job-related psychosomatic problems.

4 Sep 2014

New treatment plan could reduce need for antihypertensive drugs

It truly could be mind over matter after all. University Hospitals Case Medical Center's Richard Josephson, MD, recently released trial results in a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine that discusses mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for hypertension.

5 Aug 2014

Researchers reveal link between unhappy marital interactions and cardiovascular disease risk

The affairs of the heart may actually affect the affairs of the heart in ways previously not understood.

26 Jun 2014

Researchers examine effect of vitamin D supplementation on depression

Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in numerous health conditions in recent years, including depressed mood and major depressive disorder.

19 Mar 2014

How do people become depressed? An interview with Anna Watters and Professor Lea Williams, University of Sydney

A clinical diagnosis of depression (i.e. major depressive disorder) is currently defined on the basis of reported symptoms.

19 Feb 2014

Treating depression before onset of cardiovascular disease can cut risk of heart attack, stroke

Research led by Jesse C. Stewart, Ph.D., of the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, is the first to find that treatment of depression before any apparent signs of cardiovascular disease can decrease the risk of future heart attacks and strokes by almost half.

4 Feb 2014

Depression in childhood may increase risk of heart problems later in life

Children with depression are more likely to be obese, smoke and be inactive, and can show the effects of heart disease as early as their teen years, according to a newly published study by University of South Florida Associate Professor of Psychology Jonathan Rottenberg.

30 Jan 2014

Psychotherapy: New treatment choice for anorexia nervosa

A large-scale study has now shown that adult women with anorexia whose disorder is not too severe can be treated successfully on an out-patient basis. Even after conclusion of therapy, they continue to make significant weight gains.

22 Oct 2013

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