Abstract
Background Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by the inability to identify and express emotions. Neuroimaging studies showed specific neural correlates in alexithymic subjects [1] and pathological scores of alexithymia in several chronic pain populations and in episodic migraine [2,3]. There is also evidence of a positive association between alexithymia, depression, and anxiety in migraine patients. So far, no study has evaluated alexithymia in medication-overuse headache patients (MOH) (progressed by migraine) versus episodic migraine patients (MIG). The present study was aimed to evaluate whether MOH individuals differ from MIG as regards alexithymia scores and to investigate the association of alexithymia with headache characteristics.
Highlights
Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by the inability to identify and express emotions
Materials and methods We recruited 99 patients suffering from medication-overuse headache patients (MOH) (n=54; 81.5% female; age: 41.6±10.9) evolved from migraine or migraine patients (MIG) (n=45; 71.6% female; age: 41.0±9.3) at the Headache Centre of the “Mondino” Institute of Pavia
Demographic and clinical information were collected as well. Demographic characteristics, whereas they differed for some characteristics of illness, disability and QoL, as well as for depression levels
Summary
Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by the inability to identify and express emotions. Neuroimaging studies showed specific neural correlates in alexithymic subjects [1] and pathological scores of alexithymia in several chronic pain populations and in episodic migraine [2,3]. There is evidence of a positive association between alexithymia, depression, and anxiety in migraine patients. No study has evaluated alexithymia in medication-overuse headache patients (MOH) (progressed by migraine) versus episodic migraine patients (MIG). The present study was aimed to evaluate whether MOH individuals differ from MIG as regards alexithymia scores and to investigate the association of alexithymia with headache characteristics
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