Is alexithymia a personality trait increasing the risk of depression? A prospective study evaluating alexithymia before, during and after a depressive episode.
BACKGROUND
Whether alexithymia is a personality trait that increases the risk of major depression (MD) is still debated. In this prospective study, alexithymic levels were evaluated before, during and after a depressive episode.


METHODS
The alexithymic levels, the presence of MD and the severity of anxious-depressive symptoms were evaluated at intervals of about 1 month in pregnant women attending the Centers for Prenatal Care, using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).


RESULTS
Sixteen women affected by MD, 21 affected by subthreshold depression and 112 non-depressed women were included in the study. Women who developed depression, compared to non-depressed women, showed similar TAS and HADS scores during the pre-morbid phase, a significant increase in the scores during depression and a significant decrease after remission, whereas no change was observed in non-depressed women.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that in pregnant women alexithymia does not represent a personality trait that increases the risk of developing a depressive episode, and they support the hypothesis that alexithymia is a state-dependent phenomenon in depressed pregnant women.
Marchesi
C
C
Department of Neurosciences, Psychiatric Section, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
Bertoni
S
S
Cantoni
A
A
Maggini
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors