Alexithymia, Immunity and Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia: Replication

Abstract

Background: In a previous study [Psychother Psychosom 1994;61:199-204] we investigated the relationship between alexithymia, carcinogenesis and immunity in a group of women who were unconscious sufferers from precan-cerous lesions of the cervix (CIN). The results of this study showed a high level of association between alexithymia and CIN and, an even more interesting fact, between alexithymia and reduced levels of immunity. Methods: The aim of the present study is to check the results of the previous one by testing a larger group (43 women affected by cervical dysplasia and 67 healthy women) and by the use of a self-administered test for detection of alexithymia, the well-validated Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results: The results confirm that women suffering from CIN have higher average TAS-20 ratings (55) than normal women (47.32) and that the level of alexithymia detected in the group of women suffering from dysplasia (42.5%) is higher than that of normal women (12.85%). Moreover, the present study confirms that alexithymic women have lower rates of a number of lymphocyte subsets than non-alexithymic women. Conclusions: This study fully confirms the results of our previous work and those of a number of other studies: (1) personality might be one of the factors jointly responsible for the outbreak of cancer; (2) the immune system appears to play an important part as a mediator between personality and cancer.

Psychological Mediation of a Type of Oxidative DNA Damage, 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine, in Peripheral Blood Leukocytes of Non-Smoking and Non-Drinking Workers

“…Although the methods of investigation differ, our observations in male subjects might reflect such a tendency. Otherwise, inverse relationships between distress and the levels of 8-OH-dG in male subjects may be relevant to alexithymia, which is often discussed in patients with psychosomatic disorders, including cancer [26]. The reasons for the sex differences remain unclear.…”

The Assessment of Alexithymia in Medical Settings: Implications for Understanding and Treating Health Problems

“…One study found reduced cytotoxic lymphocyte counts in alexithymic compared to nonalexithymic men (Dewaraja et al, 1997), and another found that alexithymia was related to lower levels of interleukin-4 in women . In two other studies, alexithymia was related to reduced lymphocyte levels and to the presence of precancerous cervical lesions among women undergoing diagnostic testing (Todarello et al, 1997(Todarello et al, , 1994. These latter studies are particularly important because alexithymia was linked to both a potential physiologic mediating pathway (reduced lymphocytes) as well as a disease endpoint (precancerous cells) in people who were asymptomatic and unaware of their diagnosis.…”

Psychological Aspects Associated with the Acquisition and Development of HPV Infection and its Repercussion on Quality of Life

“…In some cases child abuse has been related with the development of cervical neoplasia [13]. One study supplied evidence that "cases" of cervical neoplasia have more probability than the "controls" of being diagnosed of alexithymia [14]. Another study reported that some personality traits, especially anxiety, substance abuse and impulsiveness, are more common in cases of cervical cancer [15].…”