The Relationship between Alexithymia and Mental Health Is Fully Mediated by Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Psoriasis

Rossella Mattea Quinto, Francesco De Vincenzo, Dario Graceffa, Claudio Bonifati, Marco Innamorati and Luca Iani
Additional contact information
Rossella Mattea Quinto: Department of Human Sciences, European University of Rome, 00163 Rome, Italy
Francesco De Vincenzo: Department of Human Sciences, European University of Rome, 00163 Rome, Italy
Dario Graceffa: Center for the Study and Treatment of Psoriasis, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, IRCCS, 00144 Rome, Italy
Claudio Bonifati: Center for the Study and Treatment of Psoriasis, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, IRCCS, 00144 Rome, Italy
Marco Innamorati: Department of Human Sciences, European University of Rome, 00163 Rome, Italy
Luca Iani: Department of Human Sciences, European University of Rome, 00163 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-10

Abstract: Background: Psoriasis is a common skin disease that affects quality of life, especially mental health. Alexithymia has been considered a relevant feature in psoriasis patients. Moreover, psoriasis was found to be associated with negative psychological health, including anxiety and depression. As the pathways linking alexithymia and mental health remain unclear among patients with psoriasis, we aimed to examine the mediating role of anxiety and depression in the relationship between alexithymia and mental health in these patients. Methods: To explore our variables of interest, we used the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Forty-four percent of patients were alexithymic and reported higher anxiety and depression, and lower quality of life compared to non-alexithymic patients. Alexithymic patients also had lower educational attainment. A correlation analysis showed positive associations between alexithymia and both anxiety and depression, whereas mental and physical health were negatively associated with alexithymia. Moreover, anxiety and depression fully mediated the relationship between alexithymia and mental health. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of assessing alexithymia and psychological distress in clinical practice to identify vulnerable patients and to implement interventions aimed at improving negative emotional states.

Keywords: dermatology; psychological distress; quality of life; mediation model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3649/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3649/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:6:p:3649-:d:774852

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().