Alexithymia in essential hypertensive and psychiatric outpatients: a comparative study.
The purported association between alexithymia and essential hypertension was investigated in a sample of 114 hypertensive patients using the well-validated twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Alexithymia was also assessed in a group of 113 general psychiatric outpatients and in a group of 130 normal adults. A rate of 55.3% of alexithymia was found in the hypertensive group compared with significantly lower rates of 32.7% in the psychiatric group and 16.3% in the normal controls. The results support the view that a high prevalence of alexithymia may be found among patients with disorders that were categorized in the past as "classical" psychosomatic diseases. It is hypothesized that a deficit in the cognitive processing and modulation of emotions may leave alexithymic individuals prone to states of heightened sympathetic arousal that are conducive to the development of essential hypertension.
Todarello
O
O
2nd Psychiatric Clinic, University of Bari, Italy.
Taylor
G J
GJ
Parker
J D
JD
Fanelli
M
M
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D010551:Personality; D011581:Psychological Tests