Alexithymia in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Full Abstract

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of alexithymic characteristics in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), comparing them with a population of healthy subjects. Fifty-three SLE patients [American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria] and 31 healthy volunteer subjects were administered validated scales for alexithymia (Toronto alexythimia scale-20), psychopathology (brief symptom inventory; hospital anxiety and depression scale), personality dimensions (NEO five-factor inventory), and quality of life (short form-36 health survey). The SLE patient's clinical and laboratory evaluations were performed by computerized indicators of activity (SLE disease activity index), of accumulated damage (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology damage index), length of disease, and therapy. A high prevalence of alexithymia was found in SLE patients. Alexithymia was associated with psychopathology, personality, and quality of life dimensions. Clinical variables and therapy were not correlated significantly with alexithymia, psychopathology, or quality of life dimensions. Multiple regression analysis showed that openness and depression were the two predictors for alexithymia in SLE patients. The present findings showed that alexithymia may play an important role in SLE patients. The difficulty in the management of emotions may lead to psychological distress and instability affecting the patient's quality of life, a relevant finding for the psychological, psychiatric, and clinical intervention and approach.

Author information

Author/s: Barbosa, Filipe (F); Mota, Catarina (C); Alves, Miguel (M); Alcântara, Cristina (C); Rossiñol, Bartolomeu (B); Patrício, Patrícia (P); Barbosa, António (A); Ferreira, Carlos (C);

Affiliation: Psychiatric Department, Hospital Santa Maria/Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal. filipebarb(-atsign-)gmail.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (Ann N Y Acad Sci), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 1173 (issue ) : pp 227-34

Dates: Created 2009/09/17; Completed 2009/10/29;

PMID: 19758155, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/29/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.