Objective. The aim of this preliminary study was to determine whether psychiatric disorders, psychopathological symptoms, and alexithymia are associated with endometriosis in an Italian population. Study Design. A preliminary study comprising 37 Italian patients with surgically confirmed endometriosis and 43 controls, without clinical and ultrasound signs of endometriosis, was carried out. Both patients and controls were evaluated for the presence/absence of psychiatric disorders, psychopathological symptoms, alexithymia, and pain symptoms (nonmenstrual pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, and dyspareunia). Results. Statistically significant differences were found between cases and controls for prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders, malfunctioning on obsessive-compulsive subscale (P < 0.01) and depression subscale (P < 0.05) of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revisited (SCL-90-R), and higher alexithymia levels (P < 0.01). Patients with endometriosis-associated pain showed greater prevalence of psychiatric disorders compared to pain-free patients but that difference was not significant. Significant correlation was found between malfunctioning in some SCL-90-R dimensions and pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, and dyspareunia scores at the visual analog score (VAS). Conclusion. Some psychopathological aspects, such as psychoemotional distress and alexithymia, are more frequent in women with endometriosis and might amplify pain symptoms in these patients.

The GSTs polymorphisms per se do not increase the risk of developing endometriosis. However, a gene-environment interaction was observed for GSTP1(Ile/Ile) and GSTM1 null genotypes, modulating the effect of PCB153, PCB180, and of total PCBs on disease risk.

32 boys, between the ages of 8 and 13 years, were identified on four teachers' and parents' rating scales (including the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-III for ADD) as showing attention deficits and hyperactivity (ADD + H; n = 10), attention deficits without hyperactivity (ADD-H; n = 11), or without ADD (attention deficits controls; n = 11). All subjects were administered Bender's Visual-motor Gestalt test and the Written Language Assessment. The ADD + H children produced significantly more errors on the Bender-Gestalt test, and both groups with attention deficits had lower (poorer) scores on most of the written language subtests. Results were interpreted as providing evidence that these children possessed significant limitations in their writing, copying, and composition.

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