Evaluation of alexithymic features of rheumatoid arthritis patients based on certain variables in Turkey

Aim: The present study was conducted to evaluate the alexithymic features of rheumatoid arthritis patients based on certain variables in Turkey. Methods: One hundred twenty-four patients who applied to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Policlinic of Yavuz Selim Bone Diseases Hospital successively, were diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, no known psychiatric or neurological disorders that would interfere with the completion of the measurements, were aged >= 35, were able to communicate and agreed to participate were included in the study. Data were designed by the researchers and collected using questionnaire forms that identified the patients' socio-demographic and disease-related characteristics. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale, which assesses alexithymic features, was also used to assemble the data. Results: There was not any statistically significant difference between the alexithymic features, difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally-oriented thinking scores and patients' gender, marital status, educational status, social security coverage, employment status, age groups and place of residence (p>0.05). When the patients were grouped together according to the people with whom they lived (p=0.036), there was a significant difference between the groups in their capacity to describe feelings. There was also a significant difference between the groups in terms of alexithymic features when they were grouped according to disease duration (p=0.020). Conclusion: The patients with rheumatoid arthritis who lived together with their spouses and whose disease duration was less than one year presented higher alexithymic features. When patients are able to identify and to describe their physical and psychological symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, their chances for receiving treatment in a timely manner greatly improve.