High levels of alexithymia in patients with multiple sclerosis

Dementia & Neuropsychologia June 2018

Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by difficulties identifying and describing feelings. Some researchers describe high levels of alexithymia among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS)

Objective:

The objective of the present study was to characterize findings of alexithymia in patients with MS.

Methods:

This cross-sectional case-control study included 180 patients with MS and a matched control group. Data for patients with MS included disease duration, number of demyelinating relapses and degree of neurological disability, as assessed by the Expanded Disability Scale Score (EDSS). In addition, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) were used.

Results:

There were 126 women and 54 men in each group, with median age of 37 years and median education of 16 years. Patients with MS had higher degrees of depression (p<0 .01="" actively="" age="" alexithymia.="" alexithymia="" and="" anxiety="" anxious="" associated="" being="" control="" degree="" depressive="" did="" disability="" education="" employed="" font="" for="" higher="" individuals="" level="" lower="" ms="" not="" of="" p="0.03)" rates="" subjects.="" than="" traits="" were="" with="">

Conclusion:

Alexithymia was a relevant finding in patients with MS.

Alexithymia literally means “pushing away emotions” and can be characterized by difficulties identifying and describing feelings, with an externally oriented thinking style. Some define alexithymia as an “affective agnosia”.¹ Studies on traumatic brain injury, stroke and epilepsy show that these neurological patients have high rates of alexithymia.² It has been proposed that a common nucleus of vulnerable affectivity and difficulty identifying emotions can be found in many patients, suggesting that depression and anxiety may be associated with alexithymia in many cases. The objective of the present study was to assess the levels of alexithymia in patients with MS and compare these with levels found in gender, age and educational level-matched healthy controls. In addition, the clinical parameters of MS and anxiety and/or depressive traits were evaluated in relation to findings of alexithymia.

METHODS

The present study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, SP, Brazil. All participants signed a written consent form prior to enrollment. Patients with relapsing-remitting MS (n=180) regularly attending the outpatient services of the participating institutions were invited to enroll in this study. All patients were being treated in accordance with the recommendations of the Brazilian Ministry of Health protocol for MS. Control subjects (n=180) were drawn from the general population, including individuals accompanying patients to other outpatient clinics, as well as their relatives and friends. Bipolar disease, eating disorders or any other major psychological/psychiatric diagnoses were exclusion criteria for this study.

RESULTS
There were 126 women and 54 men in each group, with median age of 37 years and median education of 16 years. There were no significant differences in demographic background between patients with MS and control subjects. For patients with MS, the median disease duration was eight years (range 1-20 years) and median EDSS was 2.0 (range 0-6.5). A score of 2.0 on the EDSS indicated patients were, on average, fully independent and had minimal disability.

In conclusion: Alexithymia was a relevant finding in patients with MS and should be addressed when psychological testing and care are considered for these individuals.

Dement. neuropsychol. vol.12 no.2 São Paulo Apr./June 2018

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642018dn12-020015 

This study was conducted at Department of Neurology, Medical School, UNIMES, Santos, SP, Brazil.

READ METHODS and FULL ARTICLE HERE