The relationship between dimensions of mental health and alexithymia in multiple sclerosis patients

Objectives The emotional correlates of multiple sclerosis have been the source of empirical interest in recent years. Studies have indicated that alexithymia as well as anxiety and depression are of central importance in this regard. The purpose of the present study was to continue this line of investigation regarding the relationships between alexithymia and mental health problems in patients with multiple sclerosis. More specifically, this study examined whether, and if so to what extent alexithymia significantly accounts for mental health problems in multiple sclerosis patients over and above the effect of the disease itself. The possible role of alexithymia as a moderating variable between multiple sclerosis and mental health difficulties was also investigated. In addition, the current study investigated mental health problems and alexithymia in greater depth by focusing on specific mental health problems that is, somatic complaints, anxiety, social dysfunction and depression as well as each of the component dimensions of alexithymia, that is, difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally oriented thinking. Methods Forty patients with multiple sclerosis were compared to forty healthy individuals on the General Health Questionnaire-28 and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. Results Alexithymia, especially difficulties identifying feelings, contributed to a substantial extent over and above multiple sclerosis per se in predicting all forms of psychopathology. The alexithymia dimension of difficulty describing feelings was found to moderate the relationship of multiple sclerosis with anxiety, so that the relationship between anxiety levels and difficulty describing feelings is different in multiple sclerosis patients than in healthy individuals. Finally, the alexithymia dimension externally oriented thinking was related to social dysfunction for all participants but to greater degree for multiple sclerosis patients. Conclusion These to date unprecedented results have important implications regarding psychological treatment of patients with MS.