Alexithymia and the Psychomaintenance of Bronchial Asthma

A total of 579 adult and adolescent asthmatic patients were assessed for alexithymia while inpatients. Subsequent rehospitalization data was collected 6 months after discharge. Analyses revealed that alexithymia was related both to rehospitalization (yes-no) and to the number of days rehospitalized. These findings were seen to reinforce the concept of alexithymia as a psychomaintenance variable.