Abstract
Objective The aim of the study was level of anxiety, depression and alexithymia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Introduction Alexithymia is defined as the difficulty in verbal expression of feelings. Alexithymia is more common seen in patients with chronic and temporary health problems. Method One hundred forty eight patients with rheumatoid arthritis and a hundred healthy subject were included into the study. The level of alexithymia was assessed with Toronto Alexithymia Scale- 20 (TAS-20). Depression and anxiety disorders severity and quality of life (QoL) were assessed Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment- Brief (WHOQoL-BREF), respectively. Results TAS-20 scores in patients group was higher than control group. The patients with rheumatoid arthritis had significantly poorer scores in all domains of WHOQoL-BREF (p Conclusions The results of this study suggest that alexithymia is more common in patients with RA. Treatment of alexithymia may improve QoL, depressive and anxiety symptoms.
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