BACKGROUND: Behçet's disease is a systemic immunoinflammatory disease of young 
adults characterized by systemic vasculitis of arteries and veins. Although many 
studies have been published since its discovery in 1937, the etiopathogenesis of 
this unique disorder is still unclear.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between stress factors, psychological and 
somatic symptoms, and coping mechanisms in patients with Behcet's disease.
METHOD: Thirty-four patients with Behcet's disease and 43 control subjects were 
compared by using sociodemographic data collection forms, a psychosocial and 
environmental problems list, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Hamilton 
Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS).
RESULTS: Twenty-four patients (70.6%) defined stress factors in the first stage 
of the disease. Twenty-seven (79.4%) out of 34 patients stated that the 
recurrence period of the disease was related to the stress factors. Fear was 
expressed by 10 (29.4%) patients, sadness by 11 (32.3%), and fear plus sadness 
by 13 (38.2%) when they first learnt the diagnosis. While coping with these 
emotions 14 (41.2%) revealed active-reliance strategy. A statistically 
significant difference was present between the Behcet's patients and control 
subjects regarding TAS (P < 0.05), HAM-D (P < 0.001) and BAI (P < 0.001) scores.
CONCLUSION: It seems that stressful life events have important implications in 
both relapsing and remission periods of Behçet's disease via secondary problems.