title: Alexithymia in patients with conversion disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In the recent years, it has been observed that alexithymia is not specified for the psychosomatic disorders. It is known that alexithymia is observed frequently in various psychiatric disorders especially in the somatoform disorders. The aim of this study is to evaluate alexithymia in the patients with the conversion disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was performed in the Psychiatry Outpatients Clinics of the Izmir Atatürk Training and Research Hospital and Erenköy Psychiatry Education and Research Hospital. A total of 93 cases-47 outpatients who were diagnosed with conversion disorder according to the DSM-IV criteria and 46 age, gender and educational level matched healthy controls-were included in the study. All the cases were assessed by a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and were evaluated with a questionnaire (which included demographics and clinical data), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Somatosensory Amplification Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When the two groups were compared, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale scores (except "externally oriented thinking" subscale) and the Somatosensory Amplification Scale score of the conversion disorder group were statistically significantly higher than the control group. The number of the alexithymic cases of the patient group was significantly higher than the control group's.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The level of alexithymia in conversion disorder patients, without any other psychiatric disorder, is higher than that of the healthy controls. During the evaluation of the psychological state of patients with conversion disorder, it could be useful to keep in mind the probability of them having alexithymia to determine the type of suitable therapy.
authors.affiliation: Demet Gulpek, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, Izmir Atatürk Training and Research Hospital , Izmir , Turkey.
authors.forename: Demet
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gulpek
authors.forename: Figen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kelemence Kaplan
authors.forename: Sermin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kesebir
authors.forename: Ozlem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bora
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000209:etiology*; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003291:Conversion Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alexithymia; Conversion disorder; Somatisation; Somatosensory amplification