Alexithymia prevalence among patients with chronic dermatological diseases in a tertiary hospital, Saudi Arabia

Introduction:
Alexithymia is a psychological condition characterized by difficulty in identifying and expressing one’s emotions, and it has been associated with several physical and mental health disorders.

Aim:
To determine the prevalence of alexithymia among patients with a range of chronic dermatological diseases in a Saudi public hospital.

Material and methods:
477 patients who were over 14 years old and affected by one of the following chronic skin conditions: psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne, alopecia areata, vitiligo, hidradenitis suppurativa, pemphigus vulgaris, chronic urticaria were included in this study. Alexithymia was assessed in these patients by using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) which is a widely used, reliable and valid measure of this construct.

Results:
Prevalence of alexithymia among chronic dermatological disease patients ranges from 14.8% to 71.4%, with an overall occurrence of 43%. The highest prevalence of alexithymia was found in hidradenitis suppurativa (71.4%) and the lowest in acne (14.8%). Overall, the alexithymia cases were predominantly male (51.7%). The distribution of male and female cases with alexithymia varied among patients with different types of chronic skin diseases, with the highest male prevalence in psoriasis (58.7%) and the highest female prevalence in pemphigus vulgaris (66.7%).

Conclusions:
Alexithymia is prevalent among patients with chronic dermatological diseases and dermatologists’ awareness of how to identify and address alexithymia among their patients can play a vital role in improving treatment adherence and outcomes.