Alexithymia and Loneliness in Women with Endometriosis. Testing the Factorial Structure of the Italian Endometriosis Health Profile (EHP-30) and a Mediation Model.

Objective: Endometriosis is a pathological condition characterized by endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus, chronic inflammatory reaction, and pelvic pain that dramatically decrease women's health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Furthermore, this invisible and difficultly diagnosable disease might lead women to experience alexithymia, loneliness, and consequent impairment of perceived quality of life. Firstly, the present study aimed at validating the Italian EHP-30 version which is the most used specific questionnaire for HRQoL measurement. Secondly, the present study aimed at exploring the still understudied relationship between alexithymia and HRQoL in endometriosis conditions, evaluating the mediating role of perceived loneliness.

Method: A total of 435 women with endometriosis (mean age=35.75 years) have been involved. All items were loaded on their own factors.

Results: The measure showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's α ranged between 0.60-0.95 for core and 0.74-0.94 for modular parts). The Italian EHP-30 is a psychometrically valid measure of HRQoL with endometriosis. The tested mediation model provided adequate goodness-of-fit indices (χ2 (51) = 206.071; p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.084; 90%CI: 0.072, 0.096, CFI = .933, SRMR= 0.058), showing that alexithymia only indirectly affected women's perceived HRQoL, via the mediating effect of feelings of loneliness.

Conclusions: The current study highlighted the pivotal role of perceived loneliness in directly affecting women's quality of life and mediating the effect of the alexithymic experiences.