Possible implications of Managing Alexithymia on Quality of Life in Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review

Alexithymia, characterized by difculty in recognizing and verbalizing emotions, is reported to be more prevalent in subjects withParkinson’s disease (PD) than in the general population. Although it is one of the nonmotor symptoms of PD, alexithymia is oftenoverlooked in clinical practice. Te aim of this systematic review is to investigate the prevalence of alexithymia in PD, assess itsimpact on quality of life, and explore the rehabilitation approaches for alexithymia. Research articles, selected from PubMed,Scopus, and Web of Science, were limited to those published in English from 2013 to 2023. Te search terms combined were“Alexithymia,” “Parkinson’s disease,”, and “Quality of life.” Current literature review indicates that alexithymia is commonlyassessed using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and it is associated with defcits in visuospatial and executive functions.Presently, rehabilitation interventions for alexithymia are scarce, and their efectiveness remains controversial. Future researchshould focus on developing comprehensive assessments and rehabilitation strategies for emotional processing, considering itssignifcant impact on the quality of life of both patients and caregivers.