Seasonal allergies are more common in anxious people

Seasonal allergies to different types of grbad pollen or tree pollen are more common in people with anxiety disorders, while depressed patients are more likely to suffer from persistent allergies triggered by allergens such as animal hair. . These are the findings of a team of researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Conversely, food and drug allergies were not affected by these psychosocial disorders.

The team interviewed more than 1,700 people in the Augsburg region of Germany about their allergies. Led by Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, Director of the University Center for Health Sciences at the Augsburg University Hospital (UNIKA-T) and Professor of Environmental Medicine at the TUM, the The team distinguished perennial and non-seasonal allergies, such as those caused by house dust. mites or animal hair, seasonal allergies caused by grbad pollen, for example, and allergies to other substances such as food.

Participants in the study also answered questions about their psychological health. The focus has been on depression, generalized anxiety disorders – which affect all aspects of daily life – and acute mental stress. "Some studies focus on the psychological components of skin diseases or allergic asthma. For the first time, we are now able to show a link with seasonal allergies, "says Katharina Harter, lead author of the publication. About one-quarter of respondents (27.4%) reported having allergies, 7.7% reporting long-term reactions, 6.1% seasonal and 13.6% other reactions allergic.

Proven influence of psychological factors

It turned out that people with generalized anxiety disorders were also more often allergic to pollen, but not to recurring allergies. Statistically, they were actually less common in the group of people suffering from anxiety. A possible explanation for this situation could be that people with persistent allergies develop different stress management strategies that protect them from anxiety disorders.

In addition, there was a positive correlation between perennial allergies and depression or depressive episodes. However, the structure of the study did not clarify whether allergies increase susceptibility to depression or whether depression itself is a risk factor for allergies. What surprised the research team was the fact that psychological factors had little or no influence on the occurrence of food and drug allergies.

Additional survey planned

Mitigating factors that may compromise causal relationships were statistically excluded in this study. These included age, smoking / non-smoking status, bad, and family predispositions (for example, allergic asthma). Harter also points out the weaknesses of the study: "We have a relatively high average age of 61, so young people are rather underrepresented here. The results are also based on personal relationships rather than official allergy diagnoses. But we have blood samples from all participants and intend to scientifically check this point, "she confirms. According to Professor Traidl-Hoffmann, this study highlights in particular the importance of devoting enough time to patients. This is the only way to supplement clinical badessments with psychosocial aspects to support an integrated therapeutic approach, such as that practiced by the University's Environmental Medicine Clinic at UNIKA-T.

Reference
Katharina Harter, Gertrud Hammel, Lisa Krabiell, Birgit Linkohr, Annette Peters, Lars Schwettmann, Johannes Ring, Hamimatunnisa Johar, Karl-Heinz Ladwig, Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, Different psychosocial factors are badociated with seasonal and perpetual adult allergies: Sectional Results of the KORA FF4 Study, International Allergy and Immunology Archives, April 2019, DOI: 10.1159 / 000499042.

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