{"title":"Alexithymia prevalence among patients with chronic dermatological diseases in a tertiary hospital, Saudi Arabia.","authors":"Hamad Alfahaad","doi":"10.5114/ada.2023.129944","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Alexithymia is a psychological condition characterized by difficulty in identifying and expressing one's emotions, and it has been associated with several physical and mental health disorders.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To determine the prevalence of alexithymia among patients with a range of chronic dermatological diseases in a Saudi public hospital.</p><p><strong>Material and methods: </strong>477 patients who were over 14 years old and affected by one of the following chronic skin conditions: psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne, alopecia areata, vitiligo, hidradenitis suppurativa, pemphigus vulgaris, chronic urticaria were included in this study. Alexithymia was assessed in these patients by using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) which is a widely used, reliable and valid measure of this construct.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Prevalence of alexithymia among chronic dermatological disease patients ranges from 14.8% to 71.4%, with an overall occurrence of 43%. The highest prevalence of alexithymia was found in hidradenitis suppurativa (71.4%) and the lowest in acne (14.8%). Overall, the alexithymia cases were predominantly male (51.7%). The distribution of male and female cases with alexithymia varied among patients with different types of chronic skin diseases, with the highest male prevalence in psoriasis (58.7%) and the highest female prevalence in pemphigus vulgaris (66.7%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Alexithymia is prevalent among patients with chronic dermatological diseases and dermatologists' awareness of how to identify and address alexithymia among their patients can play a vital role in improving treatment adherence and outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":51368,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Sociology","volume":"60 1","pages":"684-687"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10646714/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"British Journal of Sociology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.5114/ada.2023.129944","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/7/19 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"SOCIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Alexithymia is a psychological condition characterized by difficulty in identifying and expressing one's emotions, and it has been associated with several physical and mental health disorders.
Aim: To determine the prevalence of alexithymia among patients with a range of chronic dermatological diseases in a Saudi public hospital.
Material and methods: 477 patients who were over 14 years old and affected by one of the following chronic skin conditions: psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne, alopecia areata, vitiligo, hidradenitis suppurativa, pemphigus vulgaris, chronic urticaria were included in this study. Alexithymia was assessed in these patients by using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) which is a widely used, reliable and valid measure of this construct.
Results: Prevalence of alexithymia among chronic dermatological disease patients ranges from 14.8% to 71.4%, with an overall occurrence of 43%. The highest prevalence of alexithymia was found in hidradenitis suppurativa (71.4%) and the lowest in acne (14.8%). Overall, the alexithymia cases were predominantly male (51.7%). The distribution of male and female cases with alexithymia varied among patients with different types of chronic skin diseases, with the highest male prevalence in psoriasis (58.7%) and the highest female prevalence in pemphigus vulgaris (66.7%).
Conclusions: Alexithymia is prevalent among patients with chronic dermatological diseases and dermatologists' awareness of how to identify and address alexithymia among their patients can play a vital role in improving treatment adherence and outcomes.
期刊介绍：
British Journal of Sociology is published on behalf of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is unique in the United Kingdom in its concentration on teaching and research across the full range of the social, political and economic sciences. Founded in 1895 by Beatrice and Sidney Webb, the LSE is one of the largest colleges within the University of London and has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence nationally and internationally. Mission Statement: • To be a leading sociology journal in terms of academic substance, scholarly reputation , with relevance to and impact on the social and democratic questions of our times • To publish papers demonstrating the highest standards of scholarship in sociology from authors worldwide; • To carry papers from across the full range of sociological research and knowledge • To lead debate on key methodological and theoretical questions and controversies in contemporary sociology, for example through the annual lecture special issue • To highlight new areas of sociological research, new developments in sociological theory, and new methodological innovations, for example through timely special sections and special issues • To react quickly to major publishing and/or world events by producing special issues and/or sections • To publish the best work from scholars in new and emerging regions where sociology is developing • To encourage new and aspiring sociologists to submit papers to the journal, and to spotlight their work through the early career prize • To engage with the sociological community – academics as well as students – in the UK and abroad, through social media, and a journal blog.
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