AUTHOR=Kajanoja Jani , Karukivi Max , Mustonen Paula , Scheinin Noora M. , Kortesluoma Susanna , Rodrigues Ana João , Karlsson Hasse , Karlsson Linnea 

TITLE=Alexithymic Traits and Hair Cortisol Concentrations in Pregnant Women

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00421

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00421

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Alexithymia, a personality construct characterized by difficulties in identifying and expressing emotions, and an externally oriented thinking style, has been associated with a number of stress-related disorders, and physiological markers of stress. We examined the relationships of alexithymia and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), a measure of long-term cortisol levels, in pregnant women.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Participants were 130 women from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort study. Alexithymia was measured with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Analysis of covariance and regression analyses were used to assess the associations between alexithymia and HCC. Educational level, current depressive symptoms, and body mass index (BMI) were applied as covariates.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>In the adjusted analyses, individuals with moderate to high alexithymic traits had significantly higher HCC (<italic>F</italic> = 5.11, partial <italic>η</italic>² = 0.040 , <italic>p</italic> = 0.026) compared to non-alexithymics. Regression analyses in the whole sample revealed that, of the individual dimensions of alexithymia, Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF) was associated with HCC (β = 0.187, <italic>t</italic> = 2.064, <italic>p</italic> = 0.041).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>Alexithymia, and especially its dimension DIF, were associated with higher HCC and, therefore, may be linked to increased chronic physiological stress. Implications for pregnancy outcomes and infant development are discussed.</p></sec>