Alexithymia in a normal elderly population

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of alexithymia in an elderly Finnish population sample. Associations between alexithymia and sociodemographic factors were investigated, together with the relationship between alexithymia and perceived somatic health and self-reported psychic health. The study forms a part of the Turun Vanhustutkimus (TUR-VA) project, which is a longitudinal, prospective follow-up study dealing with psychosocial adaptation to retirement and to old age. The study group consisted of a population sample of 72-year-old people (N = 190). Alexithymia was measured with the 26-item version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-26). The prevalence of alexithymia was 34%. Alexithymia was associated with poor perceived somatic health. Alexithymia was associated with having a psychiatric disturbance (measured by the 36-item General Health Questionnaire [GHQ-36]), but this relationship disappeared when the influence of perceived somatic health was controlled for. Alexithymia was not associated with gender, marital status, social status, or residential area.