Alexithymia and Cutaneous Disease Morbidity: A Systematic Review
January 2022
in “
Dermatology
”
TLDR People with certain skin diseases often have more trouble understanding and describing their emotions, which can affect their health and treatment results.
The systematic review titled "Alexithymia and Cutaneous Disease Morbidity" conducted by Alexis Holmes et al. in 2022, investigated the prevalence of alexithymia (a psychological construct that describes difficulty in understanding and describing one's own emotions) in dermatology patients and its impact on disease burden, psychosocial comorbidities, and treatment. The review used data from 37 publications and found a significantly higher prevalence and severity of alexithymia in patients with alopecia, vitiligo, psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa, atopic dermatitis, chronic idiopathic urticaria, and primary focal hyperhidrosis compared to healthy controls. The data also showed a complex relationship between alexithymia, disease burden, and psychosocial comorbidity. The review concluded that identifying and addressing alexithymia in dermatology patients could improve treatment outcomes, associated comorbidities, and health-related quality of life.
