A nationwide questionnaire survey of physicians regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients and treatment system of psychosomatic medicine.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the treatment system of medical institutions across the world. Studies of the populations and patients have reported mental health problems caused by the pandemic. However, there are few large-scale studies that have examined the effects of the COVID-19 on diseases from the perspective of psychosomatic medicine.

The effectiveness of Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure (PRISM) for the assessment of the suffering and quality of interpersonal relationships of patients with chronic pain.

Background: Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure (PRISM) is a tool that can be used to visualize and evaluate the burden of suffering caused by an illness. The aim of this study was to identify which aspects of the burden of chronic pain patients are associated with Self/illness separation (SIS), an indicator of the magnitude of suffering. We also examined the effectiveness of PRISM for evaluating changes in the relationships between patients and their medical care and significant others due to our inpatient treatment.

Parenting style during childhood is associated with the development of chronic pain and a patient's need for psychosomatic treatment in adulthood: A case-control study.

The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between parenting style and chronic pain and the patients' need for psychosomatic treatment in adulthood.We compared 4 combinations of 2 parenting style subscales, high and low care and overprotection, among the following 4 age- and sex-matched groups: community-dwelling subjects without chronic pain (n = 100), community-dwelling subjects with chronic pain (n = 100), outpatients with chronic pain (n = 50), and inpatients with chronic pain (n = 50). Parenting style was assessed for both the mother and father by use of the Parental Bonding Instrument questionnaire.

Ghrelin activation and neuropeptide Y elevation in response to medium chain triglyceride administration in anorexia nervosa patients.

Background & Aims: Ghrelin, a peptide found in the stomach, increases appetite and fat-free mass while suppressing energy expenditure. Ghrelin requires modification by medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) to exert its physiological effects. In this study, we investigated ghrelin activation and the resulting physiological changes following MCT administration.

Age-associated effect of kestose on Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and symptoms in the atopic dermatitis infants.

Background: Although Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is a major bacterium in the intestine of adults, which is known to have anti-inflammatory effects, the development in infants or the response to prebiotics remains unclear.

Methods: The counts of F. prausnitzii in the feces were examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Current viewpoints on DSM-5 in Japan.

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was published in 2013, and its official Japanese version was published in 2014. The Japanese Government uses classifications from the 10th revision of the I nternational C lassification of D iseases (ICD-10) to categorize disorders and determine treatment fees. However, since the publication of the DSM-III, the use of the DSM system has become prevalent in research and educational settings in Japan.

Perceived inadequate care and excessive overprotection during childhood are associated with greater risk of sleep disturbance in adulthood: the Hisayama Study.

Background: Sleep disturbance and poor sleep quality are major health problems worldwide. One potential risk factor for the development and maintenance of sleep disturbance is the parenting style experienced during childhood. However, its role in sleep disturbance in adulthood has not yet been estimated.

Paternal and maternal bonding styles in childhood are associated with the prevalence of chronic pain in a general adult population: the Hisayama Study.

Background: Previous research has suggested that extraordinary adverse experiences during childhood, such as abuse, are possible risk factors for the development of chronic pain. However, the relationship between the perceived parental bonding style during childhood and chronic pain has been much less studied.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 760 community-dwelling Japanese adults were asked if they had pain that had been present for six months or more.

The outcome of treatment for anorexia nervosa inpatients who required urgent hospitalization.

Background: This study was done to determine which psychosocial factors are related to the urgent hospitalization of anorexia nervosa patients (AN) due to extremely poor physical condition and to evaluate their outcome after inpatient treatment.

Methods: 133 hospitalized AN patients were classified into an urgent hospitalization (n = 24) or a planned hospitalization (n = 109) group. Multiple regression analysis was done of clinical features, body mass index (BMI), psychological tests [The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), alexithymia, relationship with parents, and the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI)].

Alexithymia is associated with greater risk of chronic pain and negative affect and with lower life satisfaction in a general population: the Hisayama Study.

Introduction: Chronic pain is a significant health problem worldwide, with a prevalence in the general population of approximately 40%. Alexithymia -- the personality trait of having difficulties with emotional awareness and self-regulation -- has been reported to contribute to an increased risk of several chronic diseases and health conditions, and limited research indicates a potential role for alexithymia in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. However, no study has yet examined the associations between alexithymia and chronic pain in the general population.

Effect of 12 weeks of yoga training on the somatization, psychological symptoms, and stress-related biomarkers of healthy women.

Background: Previous studies have shown that the practice of yoga reduces perceived stress and negative feelings and that it improves psychological symptoms. Our previous study also suggested that long-term yoga training improves stress-related psychological symptoms such as anxiety and anger. However, little is known about the beneficial effects of yoga practice on somatization, the most common stress-related physical symptoms, and stress-related biomarkers.

Chronic psychological stress exaggerates the compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior of mice.

Although accumulating clinical evidence has shown that psychological stress worsens cutaneous symptoms by exaggerating scratching behavior, how the stress affects the scratching is unclear. Therefore, we herein investigated this using an animal model of scratching. Male BALB/c mice were exposed to 1h water avoidance stress (WAS) for ten consecutive days.

Alexithymia and chronic pain: the role of negative affectivity.

Objectives: Alexithymia has been shown to be associated with key pain-related variables in persons with chronic pain from western countries, but the generalizability of these findings across cultures has not been examined adequately. Also, there remain questions regarding the importance of alexithymia to patient functioning over and above the effects of the general negative affectivity.

Methods: Alexithymia, pain intensity, pain interference, depression, anxiety, and pain catastrophizing were measured in 128 Japanese patients with chronic pain.

Cognitions, metacognitions, and chronic pain.

Purpose: Although the content of thoughts has received a considerable amount of attention in pain research, the importance of thought processes (metacognitions) has received less attention.

Method: One hundred twenty-nine individuals with muscular dystrophy and chronic pain completed measures assessing metacognitions and frequency of both catastrophizing and pain control beliefs.

Results: Greater use of reappraisal and distraction metacognitions were associated with more perceived control over pain, whereas greater use of worry and punishment metacognitions were associated with more catastrophizing.

Daily physical complaints and hippocampal function: an fMRI study of pain modulation by anxiety.

Pain is a popular physical complaint in human. It is known that experimental anxiety modulates pain processing through hippocampal amplification, whereas it is not known whether a similar experimental reaction is related to daily physical complaints known as 'somatization'. The purpose of this study is to investigate the neural correlates of pain modulation induced by anxiety, particularly in the hippocampus, and how individual differences in this neural reaction relate to somatization.

Global catastrophizing vs catastrophizing subdomains: assessment and associations with patient functioning.

Objective: The primary objectives of the current study were to 1) confirm the three-factor model of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) items in a Japanese sample and 2) identify the catastrophizing subdomain(s) most closely associated with measures of pain and functioning in a sample of individuals with chronic pain.

Design: This was based on a cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: This study was conducted in a university-based clinic.

Pain questionnaire development focusing on cross-cultural equivalence to the original questionnaire: the Japanese version of the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire.

Objectives: The present study aimed to develop a Japanese version of the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ-J) that focuses on cross-culturally equivalence to the original English version and to test its reliability and validity.

Design: Cross-sectional design.

Method: In study 1, SF-MPQ was translated and adapted into Japanese.

The longitudinal BMI pattern and body composition of patients with anorexia nervosa who require urgent hospitalization: A case control study.

Background: The prevention of serious physical complications in anorexia nervosa (AN) patients is important. The purpose of this study is to clarify which physical and social factors are related to the necessity for urgent hospitalization of anorexia nervosa (AN) patients in a long-term starvation state. We hypothesized that the change of longitudinal BMI, body composition and social background would be useful as an index of the necessity for urgent hospitalization.

Profile of mood states and stress-related biochemical indices in long-term yoga practitioners.

Background: Previous studies have shown the short-term or intermediate-term practice of yoga to be useful for ameliorating several mental disorders and psychosomatic disorders. However, little is known about the long-term influences of yoga on the mental state or stress-related biochemical indices. If yoga training has a stress-reduction effect and also improves an individual's mental states for a long time, long-term yoga practitioners may have a better mental state and lower stress-related biochemical indices in comparison to non-experienced participants.

A multidimensional measure of pain interference: reliability and validity of the pain disability assessment scale.

Objective: Measuring outcomes across multiple domains is essential for an adequate understanding of chronic pain and the effects of pain treatment. Pain interference reflects the negative effects of pain on functioning, and is recognized as a critical outcome domain. The Pain Disability Assessment Scale (PDAS) contains items that assess the negative effects of pain on broad spectrum pain interference domains.