Alexithymia in essential hypertensive and psychiatric outpatients: A comparative study
1995; Elsevier BV; Volume: 39; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/0022-3999(95)00506-4
ISSN1879-1360
AutoresOrlando Todarello, Graeme J. Taylor, James D. A. Parker, Margherita Fanelli,
Tópico(s)Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
ResumoThe purported association between alexithymia and essential hypertension was investigated in a sample of 114 hypertensive patients using the well-validated twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Alexithymia was also assessed in a group of 113 general psychiatric outpatients and in a group of 130 normal adults. A rate of 55.3% of alexithymia was found in the hypertensive group compared with significantly lower rates of 32.7% in the psychiatric group and 16.3% in the normal controls. The results support the view that a high prevalence of alexithymia may be found among patients with disorders that were categorized in the past as "classical" psychosomatic diseases. It is hypothesized that a deficit in the cognitive processing and modulation of emotions may leave alexithymic individuals prone to states of heightened sympathetic arousal that are conducive to the development of essential hypertension.
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