Abstract
Psychosomatic respiratory disease is defined as a specific pathological condition that psychosocial factors are closely related to its pathogenesis or progression and is associated with respiratory disorders. Recent researches on psychosomatic respiratory diseases in Japan have focused on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic respiratory failure, sleep apnea syndrome and lung cancer, as well as bronchial asthma and hyperventilation syndrome. The studies focused on bronchial asthma have shown that psychosomatic approach can improve asthma symptom more effectively than medical treatment, bronchial asthma may be associated with mental disorders defined by DSM-IV, and asthma attack can be triggered by PTSD. It is also worth noting that studies on hyperventilation syndrome suggested that it is important to make sure whether the subject under study is acute hyperventilation or subacute/chronic hyperventilation.
