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Alexithymia and Depression

A Prospective Study of Patients With Major Depressive Disorder

Received March 29, 2000; revised October 25, 2000; accepted December 8, 2000. From the Department of Psychiatry, Research and Development Unit, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland, and the Department of Psychology, University of Joensuu, Joensuu, Finland. Address reprint requests to Dr. Honkalampi, Department of Psychiatry 4975, Kuopio University Hospital, P.O. Box 1777, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland. E-mail: kirsi.honkalampi{at}kuh.fi

The authors conducted a 12-month follow-up study to determine the association between alexithymia and depression in 116 outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 540 control subjects from the general population. Alexithymia was screened using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The results show that the severity of depression was significantly associated with alexithymia. In addition, the BDI scores increased or decreased proportionately with the change in TAS-20 score in both groups. These results lend further support to the idea that alexithymia may be a state-dependent phenomenon.

Key Words: Depression • Alexithymia • Affective Disorder

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