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Query: UMLS:C0011570 (depression)
 172,036 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Alexithymia and depression in family members of alcoholics were examined among 48 families. Results were as follows: (1) The prevalence of alexithymia was 47.9% (23 cases), whereas that of depression was only 6.3% (3 cases); (2) no significant correlation between alexithymia and depression was noted; (3) expressiveness and conflict were significantly lower in families with alcoholics than in healthy families without alcoholics, although families with alcoholics do have strong conflicts. The results suggest the possibility that half of them forcefully suppress their conflicts, unconsciously deny the existence of alcoholics, and finally manifest secondary alexithymia.
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PMID:Alexithymia and depression in families with alcoholics. 129 34

This study examined the cardiovascular mechanisms governing differential blood pressure changes during the emotions of joy, sadness, fear, and anger. Heart rate, blood pressure, stroke volume, peripheral vascular resistance, cardiac output, and indices of myocardial contractility were measured during fear, anger, joy, sadness, physical action, and neutral imagery conditions in 27 right-handed male volunteers screened for imagery ability, alexithymia, anxiety, and depression. Anger imagery, rather than fear, was accompanied by the largest effects on the cardiovascular system. Increased diastolic blood pressure in anger was associated with maintained levels of peripheral vascular resistance and increased cardiac output and heart rate compared with changes during neutral imagery. Sadness produced a distinct pattern with moderate increases in blood pressure and vascular resistance and a decrease in cardiac output compared with changes during neutral imagery. Fear, action, and joy produced similar blood pressure changes in which systolic pressure increased and diastolic pressure was relatively unchanged. The measurement of cardiac output and determination of vascular resistance changes during emotional imagery demonstrate that previously observed emotion-specific blood pressure responses are produced by underlying patterns of cardiovascular activation, which differ between the major categories of emotions.
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PMID:Cardiovascular differentiation of emotions. 150 84

The prevalence of alexithymia in 48 female anorexia nervosa patients was 77.1% compared with a prevalence of 6.7% in 30 normal female subjects, matched by age and education. Alexithymia correlated negatively with education in the anorexic patient group, but was unrelated to duration of illness, amount of weight loss, and levels of depression and of general psychoneurotic pathology.
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PMID:Alexithymia in women with anorexia nervosa. A preliminary investigation. 152 Nov 7

Psychosomatic problems surrounding kidney transplantation were examined in 16 recipients. Either alexithymia or psychiatric disturbances were observed in 93.8% (15 cases) recipients. The incidence of psychiatric disturbances during pre- and posttransplant periods was 43.8% (7 cases) and 18.8% (3 cases), respectively; that of alexithymia was 31.3 and 6.3%. None of the 7 cases with psychiatric disturbances before transplant manifested any disturbances after transplant, whereas 3 of the 9 cases without psychiatric disturbances showed psychiatric disturbances after transplant. Most psychiatric disturbances after transplant were related to a depressive state. These results indicate that psychiatric symptoms before transplant are not associated with induction of posttransplant psychosis, suggesting that coping with depression due to postoperative rejection may be more important in the future.
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PMID:Psychosomatic problems surrounding kidney transplantation. Incidence of alexithymia and psychiatric disturbances. 158 98

The relationship between alexithymia assessed by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) and the five-factor model of personality measured by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (FFI) was investigated in a group of psychiatric outpatients (n = 114) and normal volunteers (n = 71). When controlling for depression, the domains of neuroticism, introversion, and low openness predicted alexithymia. These three dimensions accounted for 57.1% of the explained variance in the patient cohort and 38.1% in the volunteer group. In the patient cohort, neuroticism contributed the majority of explained variance, which may reflect the state effect of distress that elevates neuroticism. Introversion was the most significant predictor in the volunteer group. These data suggest alexithymia is a unique personality trait that is not fully explained by the five-factor model of personality.
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PMID:Alexithymia and the five-factor model of personality. 159 5

This study investigated the prevalence of alexithymia and its relationship with somatic complaints in a sample of 118 general psychiatric out-patients. Of the sample 39.8% scored in the alexithymic range of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Compared with the non-alexithymic patients, the alexithymic patients scored significantly higher on several Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scales that collectively measure a diverse and extensive range of somatic symptoms and bodily concerns. In addition, the alexithymic patients had significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression, and general psychological turmoil. Although the alexithymic and non-alexithymic patients did not differ on the MMPI Repression and overall Hysteria Scales, which reflect the defenses of denial and repression, the alexithymic patients had significantly less ego strength and were significantly more dependent and more likely to engage in impulsive and acting out behaviours. The overall pattern of results is consistent with the view that alexithymic individuals are prone to both 'functional' somatic symptoms and symptoms of emotional turmoil because they are not well equipped psychologically.
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PMID:Alexithymia and somatic complaints in psychiatric out-patients. 161 82

Previous research showing moderate to high correlations between the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) has generated controversy as to whether alexithymia and depression are distinct or overlapping constructs. The present study addressed this controversy using the statistical method of factor analysis. In a sample of undergraduate university students, a correlation matrix comprising items from both the TAS and BDI yielded a four-factor solution with virtually no overlap of the significant factor loadings for the items from each scale, and with the factors corresponding closely with their respective construct. These results were replicated and cross-validated with a sample of psychiatric outpatients. The findings support the view that alexithymia is a construct that is distinct and separate from depression.
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PMID:Alexithymia and depression: distinct or overlapping constructs? 174 9

Fifty-six mildly depressed psychiatric outpatients were evaluated for alexithymia measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Each subject also completed a Defensive Style Questionnaire that assessed the maturity of their ego defenses. Alexithymia was strongly associated with immature ego defenses, but not with depression. The data suggests that alexithymia and such primitive defensive operations are separate phenomena. These findings empirically support earlier observations regarding the nature of alexithymia.
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PMID:Ego defensive styles and alexithymia: a discriminant validation study. 175 57

In this study, we a) examined the appropriateness of using a single global score to represent alexithymia and b) constructed a model to examine the relationship between alexithymia and depression in recently sober alcoholics applying for inpatient care. To measure alexithymia, we used the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS); to measure depression, we used the revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Factor analyses identified three alexithymia factors (Feelings, Daydreaming, and External Thinking) and two depression factors (Somatic-Performance and Cognitive-Affective). The three TAS factors were not positively related to each other; the two BDI factors were. We used LISREL software to examine the relationships between the TAS factors and the BDI factors. The only two significant unidirectional coefficients were between the TAS-Feelings factor and the two BDI factors. Our results suggest that in recently sober alcoholics, alexithymia, as measured by the TAS, consists of three independent, unrelated dimensions. Moreover, only the dimension associated with an inability to identify feelings and to distinguish them from bodily sensations is related to depressive symptoms. To determine whether this alexithymia feelings dimension actually is dependent on situational depression and/or anxiety will require confirmation in additional samples, such as primary alexithymics and patients with major depressive disorders.
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PMID:Multidimensionality and state dependency of alexithymia in recently sober alcoholics. 202 57

Investigators have suggested that alexithymia is a multidimensional construct and that it is responsive to situational stressors. We tested these hypotheses in a sample of 110 freshman medical students. We conducted factor analyses on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the state portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and then used LISREL to examine the relationships among the various factors. The results indicated that the TAS consists of several independent dimensions and that the dimensions associated with difficulties identifying and communicating feelings are positively related to depression and anxiety. Thus, the evidence now affirms that alexithymia (as measured by the TAS) is multidimensional and that certain dimensions are state dependent.
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PMID:Dimensions of alexithymia and their relationships to anxiety and depression. 205 18


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