Alexithymia and Health-Related Quality of Life in a General Population

Background Alexithymia is thought to reflect a deficit in the cognitive processing of emotion, and, therefore, it may predispose individuals to both psychological and somatic symptoms. Objective The authors investigated the relationship between alexithymia and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a nationally representative population sample of 5,418 subjects, age 30 to 97 years. Method Alexithymia was measured with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS–20) and HRQoL measured with the 15D, a generic HRQoL measure. Results Alexithymia was significantly associated with lower HRQoL independently of other variables. The TAS–20 subfactor Difficulties Identifying Feelings was the strongest common denominator between alexithymia and HRQoL. Conclusion Alexithymia may be a predisposing factor to poorer HRQoL.