Analysis of Physical Activity Intensity, Alexithymia, and the COMT Val 158 Met Gene Polymorphism

Occurrence of Alexithymia and Its Association with Sports Practice from a Sample of University Students: Results from a French Cross-Sectional Study

Background: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of alexithymia in a sample of university students and to determine its association with specific sports practice characteristics (competition and training). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, anthropometric data and characteristics of sport practice were collected, as well as level of alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale, (TAS-20)). Results: The study included 253 French university students who completed a questionnaire specifying their regular sports practice and level of alexithymia (TAS-20). We found 76 subjects (30%) who had proven alexithymia and 92 (36.4%) who were borderline alexithymic. A significant positive relationship between alexithymia and the weekly amount of training practice was observed. It should be noted that students who engage in more than 5 h of physical activity are more prone to be borderline or alexithymic (respectively, 19.6 and 19.7% versus 7.1% for non-alexithymics; p = 0.03). Conclusion: With a 30% frequency, alexithymia is more prevalent in this context than in the general population. Furthermore, alexithymia and borderline alexithymia are most favorably associated with higher physical activity (over 5 h per week).

Alexithymia and Athletic Performance: Beneficial or Deleterious, Both Sides of the Medal? A Systematic Review

Background: Numerous studies have been published on alexithymia among athletes in the last decades. The objective, here, is to provide a critical review on alexithymia in sport and identify elements demonstrating that alexithymic athletes can attain a competitive advantage. Methods: The Center for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines were used. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines served as the template for reporting the present systematic review. We searched PubMed, Embase, Science Direct, and PsycINFO, without language or date restrictions. Results: Within 72 eligible studies, 23 articles fulfilling the selection criteria were included in the review. Alexithymia is associated with various pathologies and considered to be counter-performing. However, despite considerable suspicion of an advantageous performance effect of alexithymia, there is a lack of data to quantify this effect. Studies identified are heterogeneous (different scales of measurement of alexithymia used or outcomes, different sports), that do not allow us to conclude on an observed causal relationship, because the studies are mostly observational. Conclusion: This systematic review opens a new search field on alexithymia, as possibly promoting performance.

An Association between Alexithymia and the Characteristics of Sport Practice: A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Study

Background: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study which aimed to investigate the relationship between the characteristics of sport practice (weekly training duration, level of practice) and alexithymia in adults who were officially licensed at a sports club. Methods: From a sample of sports club licensed adults, 188 participants were included. The participants completed computerized questionnaires on anthropometric data and characteristics of sport practice (level and weekly time spent on sport practice) as well as alexithymia (TAS 20), depression (BDI-13) and anxiety traits (STAI-Y form B). Results: In this sample, 91 (48.4%) and 97 (51.6%) athletes engaged in recreational and competitive sport practice, respectively. We observed a prevalence of 31.9% for alexithymia. Moreover, alexithymics were more involved in competitive than recreational practice (40.2% versus 23.1%, respectively; p = 0.019) and they were less anxious (63.9% versus 80.2%, respectively; p = 0.010). Finally, alexithymia was significantly more pronounced than non-alexithymia among sports competition practitioners (OR: 3.57 (95 CI [1.26–10.08]; p = 0.016) and we observed less alexithymia in team sports practice than confrontation sports (OR: 0.20 (95 CI [0.05–0.78]; p = 0.020). Conclusions: Alexithymic athletes were more involved in competition than recreational sports compared to non-alexithymic subjects, whilst there were more alexithymic athletes in confrontation sports than in team sports.

5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met are not associated with alexithymia: New evidence and meta-analyses

BACKGROUNDS

Alexithymia refers to the difficulties in identifying and describing one's own emotions, lacking of imagination, and an externally oriented thinking style. Studies up to date have examined the associations of 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met polymorphisms with alexithymia. However, the previous findings were mixed.

METHODS

We replicated the associations by scoring on alexithymia with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and genotyping the polymorphisms of 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met in a large population of college students (N = 1698). Moreover, we also meta-analyzed the associations with five samples (N = 7517) for the 5-HTTLPR and with five samples (N = 2186) for the COMT Val158Met.

RESULTS

Neither the replicated study nor the meta-analyses indicated the 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met were associated with alexithymia.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that the 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val158Met polymorphisms are not associated with alexithymia. However, genetic-environmental studies with different ethnicity and psychopathology should be carried in future.