Alexithymia in infertile women
Claire Lamas1, Jean Chambry, Isabelle Nicolas
1Département de psychiatrie, Unité de recherche, Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, 42 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris, France. claire.lamas@wanadoo.fr
Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology
|June 7, 2006
Summary
Infertile women exhibit higher rates of alexithymia, the inability to identify and describe emotions, compared to fertile women. This suggests alexithymia may be a coping mechanism for infertility-related stress.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Reproductive Medicine
- Psychology
Background:
- Alexithymia, characterized by difficulty identifying and expressing emotions, is increasingly recognized as a factor influencing psychological well-being.
- Fertility disorders significantly impact women's mental health, yet the role of alexithymia remains under-explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the prevalence of alexithymia in women experiencing fertility disorders versus women without fertility issues.
- To investigate whether alexithymia levels differ based on the cause of infertility (unexplained vs. organic).
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ) to assess alexithymia.
- Included 73 infertile women and 32 fertile women in the study.
- Conducted semi-structured interviews to gather data on medical history and psychiatric diagnoses.
Main Results:
- Infertile women demonstrated significantly higher rates of alexithymia compared to fertile women.
- Alexithymia levels did not differentiate between unexplained infertility and infertility with an organic cause.
- No significant differences were found in the prevalence of current or lifetime psychiatric diagnoses, including depression, OCD, and PTSD, between the groups.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest that alexithymia might function as a secondary coping strategy in women facing fertility challenges.
- Further research is warranted to validate these findings and explore other emotion regulation aspects in infertile populations.
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