Relationship Among Alexithymia, Anxiety, And Depression In Patients With Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship among anxiety, depression, and alexithymia in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU).Material and Method: A cross-sectional study was performed on 75 CIU patients between January and March 2006. 51 healthy adults formed the control group. A semi-structured interview form, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-26) were administered.Results: Mean age (SD) was 35.6 +/- 9.30 years, 85.3% were female of the patients. Mean age (SD) was 32.6 +/- 11.24 years, 82.4% were female of the control group. The BAI, BDI, TAS mean scores of CIU patients were significantly higher than those of the control subjects (p <= 0.01). The alexithymia score was positively correlated with depression (r=0.38, p=0.001), and anxiety (r=0.29, p=0.01) symptoms.Conclusion: Our results showed that alexithymia has a close relationship with depression and anxiety in the patients with CIU We suggest that alexithymia must be considered as a possible risk factor beside anxiety and depression in the management of CIU.