ACMJ
Anatolian Current Medical Journal

Anatolian Current Medical Journal (ACMJ) is an unbiased, peer-reviewed, and open access international medical journal. The Journal publishes interesting clinical and experimental research conducted in all fields of medicine, interesting case reports, and clinical images, invited reviews, editorials, letters, comments, and related knowledge.

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Original Article
Alexithymia; an often missed condition prevelant in the practice of nephrology
Abstract
Aims: Alexithymia is a disorder associated with difficulty in recognizing and expressing feelings, which can lead to an increased susceptibility to disease development that makes alexithymia a possible risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study was performed to evaluate for alexithymia in pre-dialysis CKD and end-stage renal disease patients undergoing hemodialysis. Material and
Methods: The study was conducted in the Nephrology Outpatient Department and Hemodialysis unit of Ümraniye Research and Training Hospital. The patients had to have a diagnosis of CKD. Demographic data form, routine biochemical follow up data of patients, Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), and Hospital Depression and Anxiety Scale (HADS) were used in this study. The statistical significance level was determined as p<0.05.
Results: A total of 111 patients (mean age 58.10±13.48 years, 61% female) were included in the study, 83.9% of whom were found to have alexithymia. The incidence of alexithymia in CDK patients was significantly higher than that in the control group (p=0.004); however, no statistically significant difference was detected in its incidence between the hemodialysis and pre-dialysis groups (p>0.05). The results showed that increased incidence of depression resulted in a 4.47-fold (p=0.035) increase in the incidence of alexithymia.
Conclusion: Alexithymia has been found to be high in patients with chronic kidney disease. Therefore, it is essential that we be aware of patients’ emotional stress and assess them for depression, anxiety, and alexithymia.

Keywords : Alexithymia, chronic kidney disease, hemodialysis

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Article available in :
Volume 5, Issue 1, 2023
Page : 18-23
https://doi.org/10.38053/acmj.1192825
Article Information
Submitted : 21 Eki 2022
Accepted : 19 Ara 2022
Corresponding Author :

Ezgi Ersoy Yeşil: Department of Nephrology, Ümraniye Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

[email protected]
Citation : Yesil E, Pehlivan Ö, Toprak Z, Surardamar A. Alexithymia; an often missed condition prevelant in the practice of nephrology. Anatolian Curr Med J 2023; 5(1); 18-23.

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