A comparison of alexithymia in American and Japanese dialysis patients

A comparison of alexithymia in American and Japanese dialysis patients was performed using the Beth Israel Hospital Questionnaire (BIQ) and the MMPI Alexithymia Scale (MMPI-AS) including structured interviews. No significant differences between the USA and Japan were observed in all dialysis patients with both BIQ and MMPI-AS. However, the alexithymia score in US hemodialysis (HD) patients was significantly lower than that in Japanese HD patients, whereas the alexithymia score in American continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients was significantly higher than that in Japanese CAPD patients. These results may suggest the possibility that the differences in dialysis policy between USA and Japan have secondary effects on alexithymia, which is one of the psychosomatic factors reflecting self-control ability in dialysis patients.