Prevalence and Characteristics of Alexithymia in Parkinson's Disease

Costa, Alberto; Peppe, Antonella; Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto; Salamone, Giovanna; Caltagirone, Carlo

doi:10.1016/s0033-3182(10)70655-1

Cited by 49 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Magnetic resonance imaging showed no signs of atypical parkinsonism, normal pressure hy- The main finding of this study is that alexithymia is associated with depression in de novo PD patients, as reported in healthy samples [2] and in medicated PD patients [7] . Alexithymia in de novo PD has a prevalence of 23.8%, confirming findings of previous studies [6,7] and suggesting that alexithymia may frequently occur in PD patients. Considering that 26% of de novo PD patients reported borderline scores on the TAS-20, it may be argued that about half of the PD patients may present mild to severe difficulties in affect regulation since the early clinical stages of the disease.…”

supporting

confidence: 89%

“…Considering that 26% of de novo PD patients reported borderline scores on the TAS-20, it may be argued that about half of the PD patients may present mild to severe difficulties in affect regulation since the early clinical stages of the disease. The finding that the prevalence of alexithymia is similar in de novo PD patients and in HC suggests that the dopamine depletion that precedes the clinical motor onset of PD scarcely impacts on alexithymia; this is also suggested by a similar prevalence of alexithymia in PD patients before (23.8%) and after (21%) the treatment with dopaminergic drugs [6,7] . However, the effect of dopaminergic drugs on alexithymia has to be directly investigated, assessing longitudinally this affective disorder in the same sample of PD patients before and after the administration of dopaminergic drugs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 87%

“…In medicated PD patients alexithymia has a prevalence of 21% [6,7] and is related to depression [7] . To our knowledge, alexithymia has never been investigated in newly diagnosed untreated (de novo) PD patients before the administration of dopaminergic therapy; this topic is of particular clinical interest considering that affective symptoms may precede the clinical motor onset of PD [8,9] .…”

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confidence: 99%

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Alexithymia Is Associated with Depression in de novo Parkinson’s Disease

Poletti

Frosini

Pagni

et al. 2011

Psychother Psychosom

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confidence: 89%

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confidence: 87%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alexithymia Is Associated with Depression in de novo Parkinson’s Disease

Poletti

Frosini

Pagni

et al. 2011

Psychother Psychosom

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“…Alexithymic features may be frequently detected in de novo PD patients and in medicated PD patients with similar prevalences [9,10]; thus, on the basis of this phenomenon, it may be argued that alexithymia is scarcely related to a dopaminergic deficit that affects PD patients in early untreated stages and is then replaced by dopaminergic drugs. However, the direct effect of the dopaminergic therapy on alexithymia has to be investigated following a longitudinal sample of PD patients, assessing alexithymia at the time of the clinical diagnosis of PD and then after a few months of dopaminergic therapy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An alexithymia prevalence of 21 and 23.8% has been reported in medicated PD patients [8,9] and in newly diagnosed untreated (de novo) PD patients, respectively, [10] before the administration of dopaminergic therapies. Medicated PD patients with the postural instability/gait difficulty motor subtype [11,12] more frequently present psychopathological features, especially depressive and apathetic symptoms, compared to medicated PD patients with the tremor dominant motor subtype (TR) [13].…”

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confidence: 99%

The association between motor subtypes and alexithymia in de novo Parkinson’s disease

et al. 2010

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This study aimed at investigating the association between motor subtypes and alexithymic features in patients with newly diagnosed untreated (de novo) Parkinson's disease. This objective derived from empirical findings about an association between the postural instability/gait difficulty motor subtype of Parkinson's disease and more marked symptoms of depression, an affective disorder strongly related to alexithymia. A total of 42 patients with de novo Parkinson's disease underwent neuropsychiatric assessment, including the toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20) and the geriatric depression scale (GDS-15). On the basis of scores reported at the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale III section, patients were classified within postural instability/gait difficulty motor subtype tremor dominant motor subtype and mixed motor subtype. Patients of the postural instability/gait difficulty motor subtype reported significantly higher alexithymic features compared to patients of the other motor subtypes. Considering the strong association between alexithymia and depression, this finding is in line with previous findings reporting that the postural instability/gait difficulty subtype of Parkinson's disease is associated to more marked psychopathological features, especially affective features (depression and apathy). In conclusion this brief report suggests the usefulness of an early neuropsychiatric assessment of affect regulation difficulties in PD patients, especially in those with a prevalence of akinetic/rigid symptoms.

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Alexithymia—an independent risk factor for impulsive‐compulsive disorders in Parkinson's disease

et al. 2013

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Impulsive-compulsive disorders (ICDs) are frequent side effects of dopaminergic medication in Parkinson's disease (PD). Alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by difficulties identifying and describing feelings and an externally oriented thinking style, has been linked to various impulse-control problems in the general population. In PD, the prevalence of alexithymia is approximately twice as high as in the general population. However, whether alexithymia is associated with ICDs in PD is currently unknown. We examined the relationship between self-reported ICDs and alexithymia in a sample of 91 PD patients (89 on dopaminergic medication). Additional self-report measures assessed impulsivity, depression, anxiety, behavioral inhibition/approach, and emotion-regulation strategies. We observed that alexithymia, and particularly difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings, was significantly correlated with ICDs, even when controlling for impulsivity, anxiety, and depression. In addition, a group analysis revealed that PD patients with clinical and moderate levels of alexithymia had significantly more ICDs than non-alexithymic patients, suggesting that even moderately high alexithymia levels increase the risk for ICDs in PD. Our results identify alexithymia as an independent risk factor for ICDs in PD. Thus, the inclusion of alexithymia in the neuropsychiatric assessment of patients with PD may help identify patients at risk for ICDs.

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Prevalence and Characteristics of Alexithymia in Parkinson's Disease

Cited by 49 publications

References 40 publications

Alexithymia Is Associated with Depression in de novo Parkinson’s Disease

Alexithymia Is Associated with Depression in de novo Parkinson’s Disease

The association between motor subtypes and alexithymia in de novo Parkinson’s disease

Alexithymia—an independent risk factor for impulsive‐compulsive disorders in Parkinson's disease

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