ALEXITHYMIA LEVEL IN DIFFERENT DERMATOLOGIC PATIENTS

Abstract

Alexithymia is often considered as a risk factor of psychosomatic disorders. Some experts consider alexithymia as one of the important features of dermatological patients. This work aims to evaluate alexithymia in patients who were admitted at the dermatology clinic. 129 patients of the dermatology clinic, as well as 120 people without dermatological symptoms, participated in this study. The study showed significantly higher rates of alexithymia (p < 0.001) in the dermatology clinic group compared to healthy subjects. Not working patients with lower educational level demonstrated significantly higher level of alexithymia. In addition, those with clinically expressed somatic diseases, showed significantly higher rates of alexithymia compared with those who did not have concomitant dermatoses (p < 0.001). Thus, alexithymia can be considered as one of the components of the integral characteristic of the personality of patients with dermatoses.