Alexithymia and chronic diseases: the state of the art

Alexithymia is a disorder of the regulatory mechanism of the emotion elaboration; it is characterized by difficulties in differentiating and describing feelings. Research indicates that alexithymia can be considered as a possible risk factor for a variety of medical conditions as it may increase susceptibility to disease development. The interest in alexithymia has increased considerably over the past decade. The present review was aimed at providing a state of the art of recent research on alexithymia in patients with chronic diseases.

We reviewed most relevant papers on alexithymia and its relationships with chronic diseases.

Numerous investigations have been conducted in the fields of clinical research, cognitive psychology, neurobiology, and psycho-neuro endocrinology. Some researchers link alexithymia with insecure parental attachment and adverse childhood experiences. Alexithymia seems to be associated with different pathologies and it seems to be an element of co-morbidity associated with an increased risk of mortality. Moreover has been underlined the role of alexithymia in influencing illness behaviours and as a consequence it influences clinical and patients reported outcomes.

Several processes or mechanisms by which alexithymia may influence health and illness have been explored. Present research findings on alexithymia suggest important implications for the management of chronic diseases.