Alexithymia, suicide ideation and homocysteine levels in drug naïve patients with major depression: a study in the real world clinical practice

Abstract

Objective: This study was performed to elucidate relationships between alexithymia, suicide ideation and homocysteine levels in drug-naïve outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: Sixty seven outpatients with MDD with melancholic features were evaluated by the means of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Scale of Suicide Ideation, and homocysteine levels. Results: Alexithymic subjects showed higher scores on all scales and higher homocysteine levels. Regression analysis shown higher homocysteine levels and TAS-20' Difficulty in Describing Feelings dimension, in turn being associated with higher suicide ideation. Conclusion: In conclusion, alexithymic MDD outpatients may characterize for homocysteine dysregulation that may be linked to suicide ideation, regardless depression' severity. However, study limitations are discussed and must be considered.