ALPHA PSYCHIATRY
Original Articles

The investigation of patients with epilepsy in terms of alexithymia, sleep quality and mental symptoms

Alpha Psychiatry 2011; 12: 114-120
Read: 513 Downloads: 353 Published: 01 April 2011

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among alexithymia, sleep quality and mental symptoms in patients with epilepsy. Methods: This study was conducted with 96 patients admitted to the Epilepsy Unit of Celal Bayar University Medical Faculty Hospital as a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data were collected from Socio-demographic Data Form, The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) and Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R). In the analysis of data, Student’s t-test, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation analysis were used. Results: The level of sleep quality of 49% of patients was poor. 41.8% of the patients was alexithymic. It was found that alexithymic patients had poor sleep quality by taking higher scores from PSQI (t=1.99, p=0.040). Alexithymic patients SCL-90-R (general symptom level) was higher than non-alexithymic patients. A positive correlation (p=0.000, r=0.560) was determined between PSQI and SCL-90-R (general symptom level) scores of patients with epilepsy. Conclusion: As a result, the level of alexithymia in patients' sleep quality was worse. Moreover deterioration in mental status of patients was found to lead to deterioration of sleep quality. [Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2011; 12(2.000): 114-120]

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