Importance to measurement of psychological stress using medical engineering techniques: An expectation from a psychiatric standpoint

抄録

July in 2011, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) decided on the policy that the psychiatric disorder was included among 5 biggest diseases in Japan and immediately studied how to cope with them because they involved national health significantly. Other diseases contain cancer, stroke, myocardial infarction, and diabetes mellitus, which were called as 4 biggest diseases in 2006 by MHLW. In this social condition in Japan, among psychiatric disorders depression represents stress diseases and influences a dysfunction of autonomic nervous system (ANS), showing insomnia, appetite loss, constipation, diarrhea, sweat, and palpitation. Consequently, objective measuring some dysregulation of ANS before and at onset of depression using medical engineering techniques advantages to prevent and to detect early of depressive state and depression. From the above, it is very important to accelerate the development of measurement of psychological stress using medical engineering techniques for national mental health in Japan.