Relationship between alexithymia and variability of blood pressure measured with ABPM in hypertensive patients

Studies indicates that dysregulation of emotions plays an important role in the etiology of elevated blood pressure (BP). One of the signatures of emotional dysregulation is alexithymia defined as an impaired ability to experience and express emotions. Previous work indicated that primary hypertension (HT) is marked by higher alexithymia, but little research examined the relationship between alexithymia and variability of evaluated BP with 24 h Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) in HT patients.

Fifty-five participants diagnosed with hypertension and a matched group of thirty-nine healthy participants filled in The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), a clinical-demographic questionnaire, and were assessed with 24 h ABPM.

After removing those with white coat HT, as expected, hypertensive individuals had a higher total score and all three alexithymia subscales. Furthermore, alexithymia was positively correlated with average values of systolic BP.

These findings provided support for the contention that alexithymia is associated with elevated BP, the higher level of alexithymia the higher systolic BP in 24 h BP measurement. Future studies may examine the causal relationship between alexithymia and HT and evaluate the effectiveness of emotional regulation training interventions to reduce BP in people suffering from primary hypertension.