ALEXITHYMIA IN ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSIVE AND PSYCHIATRIC OUTPATIENTS - ACOMPARATIVE-STUDY

The purported association between alexithymia and essential hypertensi on was investigated in a sample of 114 hypertensive patients using the well-validated twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Alexithymia was also assessed in a group of 113 general psychiatric outpatients and i n a group of 130 normal adults. A rate of 55.3% of alexithymia was fou nd in the hypertensive group compared with significantly lower rates o f 32.7% in the psychiatric group and 16.3% in the normal controls. The results support the view that a high prevalence of alexithymia may be found among patients with disorders that were categorized in the past as ''classical'' psychosomatic diseases. It is hypothesized that a de ficit in the cognitive processing and modulation of emotions may leave alexithymic individuals prone to states of heightened sympathetic aro usal that are conducive to the development of essential hypertension.