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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Quantifying Pain Location and Intensity with Multimodal Pain Body Diagrams
Published on: July 7, 2023
[Quality of life and alexithymia in somatoform pain disorder]
D Garcia Nuñez1, M Rufer, K Leenen
1Psychiatrische Poliklinik, Universitätsspital Zürich, Rämistr. 100, 8091, Zürich, Schweiz. david.garcia@usz.ch
Background:
Patients with somatoform pain disorders (SPD) frequently display reduced quality of life (QoL) and increased levels of alexithymia. This study investigated the association of QoL and alexithymia in a sample of SPD.
Patients And Methods:
Fifty-one patients with SPD (average time since onset: 11.6 years) were assessed in terms of alexithymia (TAS-20), QoL (WHOQOL-BREF), psychological distress and somatisation (SCL-90-R), and depression (MADRS).
Results:
In SPD patients a significant negative correlation was observed between QoL and alexithymia, particularly the psychological domain of QoL and the TAS-20 total score (r=-.63, p<.001). The TAS-20 subscale "Difficulty Describing Feelings" was revealed to be a significant predictor of the psychological domain of QoL (beta=-.34, p<.01), even after controlling for depression, somatisation and gender.
Conclusion:
Patients with SPD show a remarkably reduced QoL and alexithymia appears to play a significant role for low QoL. Clinicians need to pay careful attention to alexithymia with regard to diagnosis and treatment planning in SPD patients.
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