Introduction:

Alexithymia is a mood alteration manifested by difficulty in becoming aware of one’s feelings and fantasies, as well as being able to express them verbally. It has been related to the development of other pathologies and the presence of chronic diseases. In the case of renal failure, it has been associated with poorer adherence to treatment and increased risk of mortality. Therefore, we consider assessing the presence of alexithyma in a group of hemodialysis patients in our center.

Material and Method:

Sample of 63 patients on hemodialysis, men and women, aged between 22 and 83 years. Hemodialysis treatment time was also collected. Descriptive cross-sectional study with data collected between February and April 2019. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale was applied individually. Frequency values were quantified for test scores and mean comparisons were made for sex, age and time on dialysis.

Results:

We found that 22.2% of the sample (14 subjects) shows clinically relevant alexithymia values. No significant differences were found in alexithymia scores according to sex, age or time on dialysis.

Conclusions:

The findings of this study allow us to conclude that almost a quarter of dialysis patients has alexithymia, warning of the need for these people to receive specialized psychological treatment.

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