Association between Alexithymia and Depression among King Khalid University Medical Students: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Alexithymia is a condition in which a person is unable to explain his/her emotions, bodily sensations, or discuss sentiments. This study aims to determine the prevalence of alexithymia and its relationships with socio-demographics and depression among medical students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical students at King Khalid University (KKU), Saudi Arabia. A stratified random sampling technique was utilized for data collection using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). A multiple logistic regression model was used to identify the factors associated with alexithymia. A total of 333 students participated in this study, almost two-thirds (64.6%) were from clinical years, and 51.4% were females. The prevalence of alexithymia and depression was 47.4% and 88.9%, respectively. Regression analysis showed females had a doubled risk (OR = 2.09), and students with high-income status showed less probability of having alexithymia (OR = 0.39), whereas people with chronic health problems showed a doubled risk for alexithymia (OR = 2.04). Moreover, depression was significantly associated with alexithymia (OR = 1.91). Our study revealed that the prevalence of alexithymia was high along with depression among studied samples. This raises attention towards finding measures to reduce it for the better performance of students and to avoid psychological problems in the future.

The Usage of Digital Health Mobile-Based Applications among Saudi Population

“…Some health workers are still locked up in the traditional life of no smart devices, and even when they obtain smart devices, they are not interested in the functioning of the medical apps on such devices. Given the fact that the Saudi government has intentionally financed the implementation of e-health [25], it should as well widen the health communication to the population (specifically to non-health workers) so that people are aware of the importance and the use of digital health as well. Because evidence also shows that the knowledge of digital health among health workers is lacking [25], wholistic equipping of Saudi people, including health workers on digital health is important and urgently needed.…”

“…Given the fact that the Saudi government has intentionally financed the implementation of e-health [25], it should as well widen the health communication to the population (specifically to non-health workers) so that people are aware of the importance and the use of digital health as well. Because evidence also shows that the knowledge of digital health among health workers is lacking [25], wholistic equipping of Saudi people, including health workers on digital health is important and urgently needed. Digital uptake among health workers should be enforced first before scaling it up across the general population.…”

The Usage of Digital Health Mobile-based Applications Among Saudi Population

“…While the majority of the participants had never heard about digital health, their major source of information was the internet, and less health worker communication. Given the fact that the Saudi government has intentionally financed the implementation of ehealth [24], it should as well widen the health communication to the population (specifically to non-health workers) so that people are aware of the importance and the use of digital health as well. However, as this recommendation suffices, evidence also shows that the knowledge of digital health among health workers is lacking [24].…”

“…Given the fact that the Saudi government has intentionally financed the implementation of ehealth [24], it should as well widen the health communication to the population (specifically to non-health workers) so that people are aware of the importance and the use of digital health as well. However, as this recommendation suffices, evidence also shows that the knowledge of digital health among health workers is lacking [24]. Hence, wholistic equipping of Saudi people on digital health is important and urgently needed.…”

Alexithymia and Quality of Life in Saudi Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Community-Based Study

“…Moreover, this incidence can be influenced by the variable degrees of stress in women with infertility. Hence, women with infertility and PCOS can exhibit variable degrees of alexithymia, compared with those without PCOS [ 9 ]. Additionally, PCOS has been shown to have a detrimental effect on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores.…”