Alexithymia in multiple sclerosis: relationship with fatigue and depression

Bodini, B., Mandarelli, G., Tomassini, Valentina ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7368-6280, Tarsitani, L., Pestalozza, I., Gasperini, C., Lenzi, G. L., Pancheri, P. and Pozzilli, C. 2008. Alexithymia in multiple sclerosis: relationship with fatigue and depression. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica 118 (1) , pp. 18-23. 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2007.00969.x

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of alexithymia in a sample of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and to further evaluate the association between alexithymia and the occurrence of common disabling MS-related symptoms such as fatigue and depression. METHODS: Fifty-eight relapsing-remitting MS patients treated with interferon (IFN)-beta-1a underwent a complete neurological evaluation, including Expanded Disability Status Scale score assessment. Alexithymia, depressive symptoms and fatigue were assessed using the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Beck Depression Inventory and Fatigue Severity Scale. RESULTS: Prevalence of alexithymia was 13.8%, with 27.6% of patients presenting borderline alexithymia. Sixty-seven per cent of the patients complained of fatigue while 29.3% of them were depressed. Higher levels of fatigue and depression were found in alexithymic patients when compared with non-alexithymic patients. Results from logistic regressions showed that alexithymia significantly contributes to the severity of fatigue and depression. CONCLUSIONS: Alexithymia was associated with increased severity of fatigue and depression.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG)
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0001-6314
Last Modified:	31 Oct 2022 09:53
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/82778

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