Yuruyen Mehmet, Akcan Fundan Engin, Batun Gizem Cetiner, Gultekin Gozde, Toprak Mesut, Yavuzer Hakan, Emul Murat
Consultants in Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School of Cerrahpasa, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Department of Psychiatry, Medical School of Cerrahpasa, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2017 Dec;29(6):1105-1111. doi: 10.1007/s40520-017-0725-8. Epub 2017 Jan 21.
Behavioral and psychological symptoms are widely accepted as accelerator factors in progression to dementia. Although alexithymia is closely related to normal aging process and poor neurocognitive performance, alexithymia has not been included in these symptoms yet.
Here, we aimed to investigate alexithymia features in people with prominent clinical memory complaints.
The participants (n = 82) were classified into three groups as: subjective cognitive decline (n = 30), mild cognitive impairment (n = 27), and mild Alzheimer's disease (n = 25) after Mini-Mental State Examination, Clinical Dementia Rating Scale, neuropsychological test battery, Geriatric Depression Scale, and Hachinski Ischemic Scale. All participants were assessed with 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale.
The patients with mild Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment have significantly greater alexithymia features than individuals with subjective cognitive decline in Toronto Alexithymia Scale (p < 0.05 for all). The alexithymia features in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment did not significantly differ (p > 0.05, for all).
People who have objective cognitive decline seem to have more alexithymia features than people with subjective cognitive decline. Moreover, alexithymia features seem to be similar in people mild Alzheimer's disease and in mild cognitive impairment.
Alexithymia might be an important searching domain of behavioral-psychological symptoms in people with cognitive problems beyond aging.
行为和心理症状被广泛认为是痴呆进展的加速因素。尽管述情障碍与正常衰老过程及较差的神经认知表现密切相关，但述情障碍尚未被纳入这些症状之中。
在此，我们旨在调查有明显临床记忆主诉的人群的述情障碍特征。
参与者（n = 82）在进行简易精神状态检查表、临床痴呆评定量表、神经心理测试组、老年抑郁量表和哈金斯基缺血量表检查后，被分为三组：主观认知下降组（n = 30）、轻度认知障碍组（n = 27）和轻度阿尔茨海默病组（n = 25）。所有参与者均使用20项多伦多述情障碍量表进行评估。
在多伦多述情障碍量表中，轻度阿尔茨海默病患者和轻度认知障碍患者的述情障碍特征明显高于主观认知下降个体（所有p < 0.05）。轻度阿尔茨海默病患者和轻度认知障碍患者的述情障碍特征无显著差异（所有p > 0.05）。
有客观认知下降的人似乎比有主观认知下降的人有更多的述情障碍特征。此外，轻度阿尔茨海默病患者和轻度认知障碍患者的述情障碍特征似乎相似。
述情障碍可能是认知问题人群（而非仅仅是老年人）行为 - 心理症状的一个重要研究领域。
