Tıp Fakültesi / Faculty of Medicine

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11727/1403

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Author: search.filters.author.Karagol, ArdaSubject: search.filters.subject.alexithymia

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    Association of Body Mass Index with Depression and Alexithymia
    (2014) Karagol, Arda; Ozcurumez, Gamze; Taskintuna, Nilgun; Nar, Asli; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3548-5517; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0998-8388; ABE-8882-2020; AAK-3556-2021; AAA-2743-2021
    Objective: Association between body mass index (BMI) and mental disorders had long been investigated. Recent researches declare a relation between obesity and depressed mood as well as clinical depression. On the other hand mental disorders such as alexithymia are also found to be correlated with an increased risk of obesity. Therefore we aimed to evaluate depression and alexithymia together among normal, overweight and obese adults in order to assess what kind of an association is there between BMI, depression and alexithymia. Methods: We enrolled 100 adults, aged between 18 to 67 from department of endocrinology outpatient clinic whom had normal levels of TSH, fT3 and fT4 thyroid hormones and formed three groups according to their Body Mass Index (BMI). Individuals who had had BMI between 18.5 and 24.99 formed the normal, BMI between 25 and 29.99 formed the overweight and BMI 30 and above formed the obese groups. All three groups were evaluated by Composite International Diagnostic Interview for clinical diagnosis and also given Toronto Alexithymia Scale-26 item (TAS-26) as well as Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results: There was a positive relation between BMI and current depressive episode and this finding was stronger in women. There was no such relation with lifelong depression. TAS-26 total and subscale scores revealed no difference between three groups. As BDI total scores got higher TAS-26 scores were higher. Hence there was a strong positive relation between depression and alexithymia. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that higher BMI increases current depressive episode. No association is found between BMI and lifelong depression. Depression and depression severity are strongly associated with alexithymia. Contradictive with literature, alexithymia and its severity are not found to be related with BMI. Following overweight and obese individuals is important to offset the adverse outcomes of depression.
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    Level, Prevalence and Sociodemographic Correlates of Alexithymia in A Physician Population in Ankara
    (2017) Karagol, Arda; ABE-8882-2020
    Objective: Alexithymia is a thinking style that emphasizes external stimuli rather than internal emotional experiences, it is characterized by externally oriented thinking (EOT). Alexithymia is associated with depression and many psychiatric disorders. It directly affects mental health but is rarely emphasized in clinical practice. Physicians are at risk of psychiatric disorders. Alexithymia and EOT may contribute to their psychiatric problems. Our aim was to examine alexithymia levels and their sociodemographic correlates in a physician population. Meth-ods: Participants were 83 physicians employed in five hospitals (three education and research hospitals, one state hospital and one university hospital) in Ankara. Participants completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results: The mean TAS-20 score was 44.1 +/- 6.3 and 13.25% of the participants were found to be alexithymic. Participants with a psychiatric patient in their family were statistically more likely to have difficulty describing their feelings. EOT was associated with female gender, greater age, seniority in the medical profession, being married, and being born and mostly living in the western region of Turkey. Discussion: EOT may be associated with depression, cultural values and stigmatization. Physicians must be encouraged to discuss and be aware of their EOT to maintain their mental health.