Prevalence and characteristics of alexithymia in Parkinson's disease.
BACKGROUND
Alexithymia, a reduction in the tendency to think about emotions, together with a difficulty in identifying and describing feelings, has been characterized as a personality trait, but may be secondary to other pathological conditions.


OBJECTIVE
The authors aimed at investigating alexithymia in Parkinson's disease (PD).


METHODS
Seventy PD patients and 70 control subjects were administered the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale.


RESULTS
The authors found that 21.4% of PD patients and 10.0% of controls could be classified as alexithymic. PD patients and controls significantly differed on global levels of alexithymia. However, univariate analyses showed that PD patients differed significantly only on the subscale investigating difficulty describing and communicating feelings.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that some facets of alexithymia are a relevant feature of PD, possibly in relation to the neuropathological changes that characterize the disease.
Costa
Alberto
A
I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy. a.costa@hsantalucia.it
Peppe
Antonella
A
Carlesimo
Giovanni A
GA
Salamone
Giovanna
G
Caltagirone
Carlo
C
D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015897:Comorbidity; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D018491:Dopamine Agonists