Alexithymia, psychological signs, social support, and the levels of hematological parameters in diabetes

AIM: The main aim of the study is to investigate relationship between alexithymia, psychological signs, social support, and hematological parameters (cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin, and blood sugar) in a sample of patients with type II diabetes. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and twenty-six patients with type II diabetes (38 males and 88 females) with a medical history in the division of diabetes of the health center no. 1 in Isfahan participated in the study in 2015. They filled in the Farsi version of Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby, Parker and Taylor, 1994), social support questionnaire in chronic patients (Khodapanahi, 2009), and depression anxiety stress scales (Lovibond and Lovibond, 1995). RESULTS: The results showed that there was a positive significant relationship between cholesterol level and difficulty identifying and describing feelings (P < 0.05) and between glycosylated hemoglobin and anxiety and stress (P < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a negative significant relationship between fasting blood sugar and emotional support (P < 0.05). DISCUSSION: Therefore, it is therapeutically important to regard the psychological states of patients (especially alexithymia, psychological signs, and social support) to make a speedy recovery of type II diabetes. CONCLUSION: Regarding the results, it can be concluded that complexity and extent of effects of diabetes on an individual with alexithymia make diabetes difficult to treat and prevent its progress.