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Dimensions of alexithymia and their links to anxiety and depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

M. Ben Abdallah ,
I. Baati ,
F. Tabib ,
F. Guermazi ,
S. Hentati ,
N. Farhat  and
J. Masmoudi
M. Ben Abdallah*
Affiliation:
CHU Hedi CHaker hospital Sfax Tunisia, Department Of Psychiatry (a), Sfax, Tunisia
I. Baati
Affiliation:
CHU Hedi CHaker hospital Sfax Tunisia, Department Of Psychiatry (a), Sfax, Tunisia
F. Tabib
Affiliation:
CHU Hedi CHaker hospital Sfax Tunisia, Department Of Psychiatry (a), sfax, Tunisia
F. Guermazi
Affiliation:
CHU Hedi CHaker hospital Sfax Tunisia, Department Of Psychiatry (a), Sfax, Tunisia
S. Hentati
Affiliation:
CHU Hedi CHaker hospital Sfax Tunisia, Department Of Psychiatry (a), Sfax, Tunisia
N. Farhat
Affiliation:
Habib Bourguiba University Hospital, Department Of Neurology, Sfax, Tunisia
J. Masmoudi
Affiliation:
CHU Hedi CHaker hospital Sfax Tunisia, Department Of Psychiatry (a), Sfax, Tunisia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Anxiety and depression are among the most common psychiatric comorbidities in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. These disorders could lead to significant emotional disturbances.

Objectives

To study the different dimensions of alexithymia in patients with MS and determine their relationship with anxiety and depression.

Methods

Our study, descriptive and analytical, focused on patients followed for MS at the neurology department in Sfax (Tunisia). In addition to collecting sociodemographic data, we used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to assess anxiety and depressive symptoms and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess alexithymia and its three dimensions: difficulty identifying emotions (DIE), difficulty differentiating emotions (DDE), and externally oriented thinking (EOT).

Results

This study included 93 patients followed for MS. Our results showed a prevalence of 58.1% for alexithymia, 38.7% for anxiety and 26.9% for depression. The median score of the dimension DIE was 22. The median score of the dimension DDE was 17. The mean score for the dimension EOT was 26.96 ± 4.18. Alexithymic patients were more anxious and depressed (p = 0,002 and p < 10-3, respectively). Both dimensions DIE and DDE were associated with anxiety (p = 0.001 and p = 0.022, respectively) and depression (p < 10-3 and p < 10-3, respectively). Non-depressed patients had a higher score on the EOT dimension (p = 0.003).

Conclusions

Our results showed a relationship between depression, anxiety and alexithymia, hence the importance of looking for alexithymia in MS patients with anxiety or depressive symptoms.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

Dimensions of alexithymiaDepressionAnxiety
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S460
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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