IP Indian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Dermatology 2023;9(3):147–152 Content available at: https://www.ipinnovative.com/open-access-journals IP Indian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Dermatology Journal homepage: www.ijced.org/ Original Research Article A case -control study on the effect of alexithymia in patients of chronic urticarial Heba Ansari 1 , Bhojani Amee Maganbhai 1 , Nikhil Gurjar 1 , Sharmila Patil 1 , Kiran Godse 1, * 1 Dept. of Dermatology, Dr. DY Patil Medical College, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 12-06-2023 Accepted 16-09-2023 Available online 17-10-2023 Keywords: Chronic urticaria Alexithymia Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS20) ABSTRACT Background: Chronic urticaria (CU) places a substantial physical and emotional strain on individuals, impacting their overall quality of life. Alexithymia, described as difficulty experiencing, identifying and expressing emotions, is a characteristic linked to various skin conditions including CU. This study was carried out to assess how alexithymia compares between patients with chronic urticaria and individuals without the condition. Materials and Methods: We included a total of 50 individuals with chronic urticaria (CU) and 50 healthy individuals as controls. All participants were asked to complete the Toronto Alexithymia Score (TAS-20) questionnaire as part of the study assessment. Result: In our study we found the following patterns within the chronic urticaria (CU) group: 52% exhibited clear characteristics of alexithymia, 30% showed potential signs of alexithymia and 18% of participants had no indications of alexithymia. Among those who displayed alexithymia, the majority (88.5%) were in the non-controlled CU group category. When we examined the TAS-20 categories, we noticed gender differences among participants with alexithymia: 57.1% were female and 45.5% were male, suggesting a female predominance. In the control group, TAS-20 categorization revealed the following: 52% of participants had no alexithymia, 32% displayed potential alexithymia and 16% showed signs of alexithymia. Conclusion: Individuals with chronic urticaria (CU) tend to exhibit higher levels of alexithymia, particularly in the DIF (Difficulty Identifying Feelings) and DDF (Difficulty Describing Feelings) subscales, when compared to individuals in the control population. This is an Open Access (OA) journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. For reprints contact: reprint@ipinnovative.com 1. Introduction Urticaria is a cutaneous disorder characterised by the appearance of transient, pruritic, erythematous, slightly oedematous wheals. The word urticaria is derived from the common European stinging nettle Urtica dioica. Based on the duration, urticaria can be: acute type (AU), lasting for less than six weeks, or chronic type (CU), which persists for more than six weeks. Chronic urticaria can further be divided into: Chronic inducible Urticaria (CIndU) and * Corresponding author. E-mail address: kvg402@gmail.com (K. Godse). Chronic spontaneous Urticaria (CSU). In individuals with CSU, the symptoms may appear unexpectedly, without clear triggers, although stress, infections, and other factors can influence the severity of these symptoms. Notably, CSU is more prevalent than CIndU, and it’s possible for both types to coexist within the same. 1 A recent comprehensive analysis of studies found that chronic urticaria (CU) has an overall prevalence rate of 4.4% throughout a person’s lifetime. Notably, Latin America and Asia exhibit higher rates of CU compared to other regions. 2 It’s crucial to highlight that CU often persists for extended https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijced.2023.027 2581-4710/© 2023 Author(s), Published by Innovative Publication. 147