The relationship between depression, anxiety, and alexithymia in Huntington’s disease

Aim: Numerous studies have been conducted on psychiatric complaints such as depression, anxiety, and apathy in HD; however, due to the scarcity of studies examining alexithymia and their conflicting results, this study was deemed necessary.It was aimed to demonstrate alexithymia and the presence of difficulties in recognising and expressing emotions and extroverted thinking, which are subgroups of alexithymia, in patients with HD. Materials and Methods: Sixteen HD patients and sixteen healthy controls were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20).Both groups were compared, including the TAS-20 subscales: TAS-A for difficulty identifying emotions, TAS-B for difficulty describing emotions, and TAS-C for externally-oriented thinking.Results: BDI, BAI, and TAS-20 scores were significantly higher in the patient group (P<0.02).Similarly, TAS-A, TAS-B, and TAS-C scores were also significantly higher in the patient group (P<0.02).While there were 2 possible alexithymics in the healthy group, there were 6 possible alexithymics and 6 definite alexithymics in the patient group.Discussion: It has been shown that in HD, which has a high psychiatric burden, alexithymia and its subscales, difficulty in recognizing, expressing emotions, and externally-oriented thinking, increase.