Is alexithymia a personality trait increasing the risk of depression? A prospective study evaluating alexithymia before, during and after a depressive episode
| Autor: | Carlo Marchesi, S. Bertoni, Alessandro Cantoni, Carlo Maggini |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2008 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
medicine.medical_specialty Time Factors Adolescent Personality Inventory media_common.quotation_subject Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale Severity of Illness Index Toronto Alexithymia Scale Alexithymia Risk Factors Surveys and Questionnaires Severity of illness medicine Humans Personality Affective Symptoms Prospective Studies Risk factor Psychiatry Applied Psychology Depression (differential diagnoses) media_common Depressive Disorder Major medicine.diagnostic_test medicine.disease Psychiatry and Mental health Female Personality Assessment Inventory Psychology |
| Zdroj: | Psychological Medicine. 38:1717-1722 |
| ISSN: | 1469-8978 0033-2917 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/s0033291708003073 |
| Popis: | BackgroundWhether alexithymia is a personality trait that increases the risk of major depression (MD) is still debated. In this prospective study, alexithymic levels were evaluated before, during and after a depressive episode.MethodThe alexithymic levels, the presence of MD and the severity of anxious-depressive symptoms were evaluated at intervals of about 1 month in pregnant women attending the Centers for Prenatal Care, using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).ResultsSixteen women affected by MD, 21 affected by subthreshold depression and 112 non-depressed women were included in the study. Women who developed depression, compared to non-depressed women, showed similar TAS and HADS scores during the pre-morbid phase, a significant increase in the scores during depression and a significant decrease after remission, whereas no change was observed in non-depressed women.ConclusionsOur data suggest that in pregnant women alexithymia does not represent a personality trait that increases the risk of developing a depressive episode, and they support the hypothesis that alexithymia is a state-dependent phenomenon in depressed pregnant women. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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