Obesity-associated factors in psychiatric outpatients: A multicenter questionnaire survey.

The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide, resulting in various health issues such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, and a lower life expectancy. Importantly, several psychiatric disorders and the use of psychotropic medications have been linked to obesity, and the possible risk factors need further investigation. This study examined the prevalence of obesity and its associated factors using a self-administered questionnaire.

Constipation-associated factors in outpatients with schizophrenia: A multicenter questionnaire survey.

Constipation is a prevalent gastrointestinal disorder that affects people globally, decreasing their quality of life and life expectancy. Individuals with schizophrenia often suffer from constipation, which could be a result of the illness itself or the side effects of psychotropic medications. However, little research has been conducted on factors contributing to constipation in individuals with schizophrenia.

Prevalence of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Japan: A General Population Survey.

Purpose: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is among the most prevalent and highly disabling mental health conditions that negatively impacts patient's quality of life (QOL) and disrupts activities of daily living. However, the recognition of GAD is difficult due to substantial overlap with other mental disorders. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of GAD, assess QOL of probable GAD patients in Japan, and gain insights on the status of visiting medical institutions as well as their recognition/awareness of the disorder.

Neuropsychological characteristics of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder without intellectual disability.

Aims: While several studies have reported various cognitive impairments in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, the neuropsychological profiles of adults with this disorder are understudied. Here, the intelligence and memory functions of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder without intellectual disability were evaluated.

Methods: The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised were administered to 30 adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder whose full-scale intelligence quotients were >85.

Spontaneous theory of mind in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Spontaneous theory of mind (ToM) is an unconscious and automatic understanding of others' mental states. Recently, individuals with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been shown to have social and communication difficulties, and ToM in ADHD has come under scrutiny. Although some studies have employed explicit ToM tasks to this end with contradictory results, none, to our knowledge, has investigated spontaneous ToM in individuals with ADHD.

Clinical Characteristics of Women with ADHD in Japan.

Purpose: Although gender differences have been reported in various aspects of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), such as prevalence, comorbidities, and social functioning, there have been few such studies conducted in Japan. Our research investigated gender differences in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of adults with ADHD in a Japanese clinical sample. Due to unique Japanese cultural ideals and expectations of women's behavior that are in opposition to ADHD symptoms, we hypothesized that women with ADHD experience more difficulties and present more dysfunctions than men.

Cortical surface architecture endophenotype and correlates of clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

Aim: Prior structural magnetic resonance imaging studies demonstrated atypical gray matter characteristics in siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, they did not clarify which aspect of gray matter is related to the endophenotype (i.e.

P300 component of event-related potentials in persons with asperger disorder.

In the present study, we investigated auditory event-related potentials in adults with Asperger disorder and normal controls using an auditory oddball task and a novelty oddball task. Task performance and the latencies of P300 evoked by both target and novel stimuli in the two tasks did not differ between the two groups. Analysis of variance revealed that there was a significant interaction effect between group and electrode site on the mean amplitude of the P300 evoked by novel stimuli, which indicated that there was an altered distribution of the P300 in persons with Asperger disorder.

Cross-cultural evaluation of the Panic Disorder Severity Scale in Japan.

The Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) [Shear et al., 1997] is rapidly gaining world-wide acceptance as a standard global severity measure of panic disorder, however, its cross-cultural validity and reliability have not been reported yet. We developed the Japanese version of the PDSS and examined its factor structure, internal consistency and inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity among Japanese patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia.