Is alexithymia a personality trait increasing the risk of depression? A prospective study evaluating alexithymia before, during and after a depressive episode

• Published in: Psychological medicine 2008-12, Vol.38 (12), p.1717-1722
• Main Authors: Marchesi, C., Bertoni, S., Cantoni, A., Maggini, C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Affective Symptoms - diagnosis; Affective Symptoms - epidemiology; Affective Symptoms - psychology; Alexithymia; Anxiety; Biological and medical sciences; Depression; Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder, Major - epidemiology; Depressive Disorder, Major - psychology; Female; Humans; Hypotheses; major depression; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mood disorders; Personality; Personality Inventory; Personality traits; Pregnancy; Pregnant women; Prenatal care; Prospective Studies; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Sociodemographics; Surveys and Questionnaires; Time Factors; Variables; Variance analysis; Vulnerability; Womens health
• ISSN: 0033-2917; 1469-8978
• DOI: 10.1017/S0033291708003073

Whether alexithymia is a personality trait that increases the risk of major depression (MD) is still debated. In this prospective study, alexithymic levels were evaluated before, during and after a depressive episode. The alexithymic levels, the presence of MD and the severity of anxious-depressive symptoms were evaluated at intervals of about 1 month in pregnant women attending the Centers for Prenatal Care, using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Sixteen women affected by MD, 21 affected by subthreshold depression and 112 non-depressed women were included in the study. Women who developed depression, compared to non-depressed women, showed similar TAS and HADS scores during the pre-morbid phase, a significant increase in the scores during depression and a significant decrease after remission, whereas no change was observed in non-depressed women. Our data suggest that in pregnant women alexithymia does not represent a personality trait that increases the risk of developing a depressive episode, and they support the hypothesis that alexithymia is a state-dependent phenomenon in depressed pregnant women.